Spawn of the Source
by 2JWR6
Summary: Phoebe vanquished Cole, but she could never vanquish the child she made with him. This story starts where Season 4, Episode 21 "Womb Raider" starts but it quickly diverges. No child is born evil - not even the spawn of the Source.
1. In the Beginning

**Chapter 1: In the Beginning**

* * *

The doctor set Phoebe's chart down, "okay, let's see what we can see." He brought the wand to Phoebe's stomach and stared at the screen.

A sudden shock tossed him across the room.

Yelping, Piper rushed to help him up.

He shook his head, "What happened?"

"That's a good question." Piper jerked her hands to magically freeze him. "What happened Phoebe?"

"Sorry, that gel was really cold."

"So you electrocuted him?"

Phoebe shrugged.

"Any other powers you wanna share with me?"

"This was a bad idea." Sitting up, she used her gown to rub off the gel.

"Ya think?" She helped Phoebe off the table, out of the office and into the car.

On the ride home, Piper ventured, "how exactly did you get your active powers?"

"They're not mine; they never were."

"Your baby has that much power from the first trimester?"

"Even Cole was surprised." Phoebe stared out the window. "He was desperate to consolidate power and secure our standing before I gave birth."

Piper didn't know what to say, so she remained silent the rest of the way home.

They walked inside and headed for the attic.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Piper called "Leo!"

He appeared in a swarm of white lights. "How did the appointment go?"

"Fine -up until Phoebe nearly killed the doctor."

"What?"

Phoebe sat on the couch. "The baby's magic is growing and as long as he's inside me his powers are my powers."

"And you used them on a human?"

She nodded. "Like a reflex. Channeling his powers is as easy as breathing."

Piper sighed, "we saw what using demonic powers did to Cole."

Phoebe murmured, "it eroded his humanity."

Paige walked in, "so let's bind the runt's powers. I just checked and we have all the ingredients."

"I told you on the phone you didn't need to come home for this. You were already late to work."

"Eh," Paige waved off Piper's concern. "Who needs a vacation time?"

"Piper's right. You can't keep risking your job for non-emergencies."

"Yes I can."

Piper stepped towards the book of shadows. "Leo is going to check with the elders — see what they know about this baby and I'm going to check the book."

"I just did that this morning. Its best solution is the binding potion."

Leo frowned. "Binding the baby's magic would bind Phoebe's too. It'd suspend the Power of Three."

Piper started flipping through the book. "Well let's hope the elders have a better idea."

Leo nodded and orbed out.

Paige sat beside Phoebe. "Why didn't you tell us you still had active powers?"

"I wasn't planning on using them again."

Piper kept her eyes on the book "like Cole planned on not using his?"

"Every time he slipped it was to protect himself or me."

Paige spoke in a neutral tone. "But your slips are different…"

Phoebe nodded.

"You slip when you're upset."

Piper flipped another page. "You've been lying to us."

"You saw me flame in and out of here more than once. You thought that just went away?"

Piper slammed the book shut. "Yes."

"Then I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I've just had bigger things on my mind."

"Like being summoned by the seer?" Piper glared. "This morning when Leo said you were safe from her because you'd chosen good, you didn't agree."

Phoebe rolled her eys "I'm not evil Piper."

"But your child might be."

Paige stood, "so to be safe, we need to vanquish the seer."

Piper didn't look away from Phoebe. "We'd need a tissue sample for the vanquishing potion."

Phoebe broke there staring match. "The penthouse. Cole kept extra tonic in the safe."

Paige frowned, "how's that hel–"

"Her blood. It's one of the ingredients of the atomic."

"Ewww"

Ignoring pages grossed out expression, Phoebe stood. "Paige, you go back to work. Piper and I can go to the penthouse and make the potion. We'll be fine."

Paige looked to Piper for confirmation. "Okay, but if you need anything, call me. I'm an orb away."

Phoebe grabbed her jacket and headed for the stairs. Piper followed.

They met Detective Morris in the foyer. "I left four messages here, has anybody in this house learned the magic of a telephone?"

Piper groaned, "it's been a very rough busy week."

"Right. Phoebe, how you holding up?"

"Depends on what part of the day you ask me."

"Look, I know you've got a lot to deal with already, but there's some business I don't think can be put off any longer."

"It's going to have to."

"Cole worked at a high profile law firm and right now you three are the only ones know he's not coming back."

Phoebe patted Paige's behind. "You, Missy, work."

Paige shook her head. "If you guys are making the penthouse police presentable, you're gonna need help. The place looks like a bomb went off."

Morris eyes bugged "what?!"

Piper waved them all out the door. "Okay, group trip it is."

Phoebe walked to Darryl's car. Neither sister tried to stop her.

On the drive over, Darryl explained his plan – the one that would convince the police she hadn't killed her husband.

She barely listened while staring out the window.

They arrived about the same time as her sisters.

Together, they stepped into the elevator.

Each of them held their breath as the door opened.

Stepping out, Phoebe glanced around her desecrated home. Her gaze found and locked on the burn mark Cole left behind.

Darryl took in the scene as he spoke. "It has to look like Cole left in a hurry, that means packing up all of his stuff and personal belongings."

Paige frowned, "Why do we need to pack up his stuff?"

Phoebe continued to stare at the dark stain. "So I can report him missing."

Darryl nodded, "She has to otherwise somebody else will and she'll become to prime suspect in his disappearance."

"If his stuff is gone, it'll look like he left me."

"That's right. We cannot give the police any reason to suspect foul play. I mean, technically you three did kill him." Darryl followed Phoebe's stared. "What is that?"

Phoebe murmured, "Cole."

Piper rubbed her back. "Why don't you pack up his things? I'll start cleaning up out here."

Page put an arm around Phoebe, "come on sweetie."

Phoebe reluctantly let herself be led to the bedroom.

Darrell surveyed the blown out windows. "I don't know how we're going to fix these before the detectives on the case investigate this place."

On her way to the kitchen, Piper called "Leo." When she grabbed the broom, Leo appeared. "We could use a magic handyman."

He followed her back into the main room. He glanced at the burn mark but didn't linger. He walked straight for the windows while Piper started sweeping glass.

She looked at Darrell. "You mind picking up these flowers?" She tried to sweep over the burn mark without really looking at it. "The elders have any words of wisdom?"

Having healed one window, Leo moved on to another, "we should wait for Phoebe."

Piper stared at the bits of ash surrounding the mark. "I don't think this is going to scrub out."

Leo didn't turn around. "I'll get to it."

A scream sounded from the bedroom.

Piper dropped the broom and sprinted. Pushing open the door, she saw Paige holding Phoebe's legs.

The rest of her sister was being sucked into the closet.

Coming close, Piper saw bolts of electricity shooting from Phoebe to the Seer before her. She heard a scream that wasn't Phoebe's and then a crash as Phoebe and Paige fell back against the bed. Piper rushed inside them. "What the hell was that?"

Leo and Darrell stood behind her. Leo crouched beside her, "are you hurt?"

Paige shook her head, "the Seer was trying to take Phoebe and Phoebe just – just vanquished her."

Piper helped them up. "How is that possible? She's an upper-level being."

Paige watched Phoebe step towards the closet. "Guess source of all evil trumps seer."

Phoebe walked past them. "We should still take the tonic. The police finding it would just raise questions."

"Slow down, talk to us."

She started unlocking the wall safe, "that wasn't the first time I've used demonic powers to kill a demon. There's nothing to talk about."

"Nothing to talk about?" Piper scoffed, "Phoebe, you just killed the thousand-year-old demon with your eyes."

Phoebe open the door and pulled out an envelope. "She must have gotten to it first."

"What's that?"

She turned towards the group. "Cole's handwriting."

Darryl strolled strode towards the trashcan. "Cleaning and packing people. We're here to clean and pack. No panicking until we're done and home."

Piper continued looking at Phoebe. "Leo, what did the elders say?"

"That this has never happened before. This baby was conceived by the strongest forces of good and evil on this plane. They're scared."

Paige tilted her head. "Since when do the elders fear anything?"

"This child's magic is stronger than any that came before. They can't see its future."

Page turned to Phoebe, "can you?"

Leaning against the wall, Phoebe looked at Leo. "As soon as I give birth, I'll strip its powers. Until then, what do they want me to do — bind them?"

"They don't want to suspend the power of three, but they do want to separate you."

Piper frowned at him. "Separate how?"

"They've asked that you live apart until the child is born — that you meet only when necessary, when you need the power of three."

Paige put her hands on her hips. "Asked or decreed?"

Leo looked at Phoebe, "you won't be alone. The elders are sending an envoy to stay with you during the pregnancy."

Picking up cushions off the floor, Phoebe returned them to the couch. "An envoy…"

Piper picked up the broom again. "Sounds like detainment."

"It's unprecedented, but it is the greatest honor. The envoy will consist of several white lighters and two elders. They'll teach you techniques to stabilize your emotions and balance your magic with the child's."

Piper pulled his arm. "I thought elders never came down here."

"It's rare, but this child is the most significant magical being on this plane."

He watched Phoebe sit on the couch. "They want to help however they can."

Phoebe looked around the remains of her life with Cole. "I don't need to pack my things after all — just Cole's."

Paige sat on the arm of the couch. "You're seriously going to stay here?"

Piper crossed her arms. "We can regroup at home and find somewhere closer."

Leo cleared his throat.

Phoebe nodded. "I probably will sell this place but not today. In the meantime, I have everything I need. Do you think the envoy will approve?"

Leo looked between Piper and Paige, "as long as you to agree not to visit. If they see you here, they'll insist on a move."

Uncrossing her arms, Piper slapped her hands against her thighs, "this is ridiculous. What do they think is going to happen?"

Phoebe stood and picked up a fallen picture frame. "They're scared I'll kill one of you by accident. White lighters are already dead, so they should be safe." Turning over the frame, she looked a photo of her and Cole.

Paige stood too. "But Phoebe would never hurt us."

"They can't take that chance."

Piper straightened a fallen fichus. "So when does this envoy arrive?"

Leo stepped towards the burn mark. "Tonight." Everyone watched as his hand hovered above it. As his hand started to glow, the burn faded and disappeared leaving a smooth reflective surface.

Phoebe breathed out a sigh of relief and looked up at Darryl. "When's that meeting with Missing Persons."

He shrugged. "Now-ish."

Leo looked at her. "We'll have this place fixed up by the time you get back."

Paige threw her arms around Phoebe enveloping her in a tight hug. "We'll wait with you. And then we'll see you soon as the next vanquish. We'll need the power of three in no time."

Piper frowned. "And if we don't?"

Phoebe followed Darryl to the elevator. "Then I'll see you again in seven months."


	2. White Lights Descend

**Chapter 2: White Lights Descend**

* * *

In the silent room, white lights appeared revealing a single figure.

A tall woman met the gaze of Leo. "Greetings brother." After a moment, no other light or figures appeared.

Paige huffed, "well that was anti-climactic."

She bowed at the waist and looked at Piper and Paige. "My name is Mia. I will aid you while your sister is under the care of the elders. We should leave before their arrival. Any future communication will funnel through me and one of her escorts."

With crossed arms, Piper raised a brow. "Why can't we meet them?"

"It's for their protection. We're all taking a great risk to be here."

"So as soon as we orb out…"

She nodded, "the others will orb in." She looked at Phoebe for the first time. "The Queen of Darkness will not be alone more than a moment."

"I'm not queen anymore." Phoebe stared at her own clasped hands.

"That is for your subjects to decide. Now, we must take our leave."

Before anyone could argue, Mia waved her hand and everyone but Phoebe disappeared in a whirl of lights. In the next moment, another whirl appeared in their place.

Facing the three figures, Phoebe quickly identified the elder. She was a small, portly woman with rich golden skin and long flowing gray hair. Her lips were not smiling but her eyes were. She stood between two men who looked decidedly less joyful.

Unsure of protocol, Phoebe lowered her head.

The woman spoke with a surprisingly deep, raspy voice, "thank you for welcoming us into your home. We're here to help you — nothing more."

Phoebe raised her gaze. "Mia said the underworld still considers me their queen. Is that true?"

The woman tilted her head slightly considering her. "The underworld will crown a new Source, but to many, you will always be Queen Mother."

"Even though I helped vanquish the Source."

The woman's voice softened. "Given the nature of your relationship, the assassination was seen as an attempted coup rather than an abdication."

Phoebe scoffed, "of course it was."

The tall man on her left stepped forward, "together with Elder Nita, Amir and myself will help you navigate through this political fog."

Phoebe looked up at him. "Thank you…"

"You may call me Sy."

"Thank you Sy. Tell me, how thick is this fog?"

His lips tightened. "Today you returned to the Source's compound-"

"—my home"

"and executed a political rival."

"In self-defense; the seer set a trap for me."

"You betrayed the Source and his most trusted advisor struck back. For that, you murdered her."

"She wanted my baby."

She nodded. "She coveted. Others covet to."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "So what do I do?"

"Leave."

"And go where?"

The other man in the room spoke. "We found you discrete accommodations outside the city. We've already moved your things there."

"How – when?"

Elder Nita smiled. "While we've been talking here."

Sy leaned in. "Will you abandon the stronghold now?"

Phoebe extended one arm while keeping the other tight against her stomach. "Lead the way."

She swallowed as the tall man with dark eyes wrapped his arm around hers. Bright lights forced her to close her eyes. They surrounded her with warmth and transported her to another place.

She opened her eyes to a room of dark wood. It smelled of her favorite incense and felt still and quiet.

She stepped towards the nearest window. It opened to seemingly endless stretches of grass — no roads or homes — just grass and thin clouds. "When you said outside the city — how far outside?"

Sy came up behind her. "Farther than anyone or anything will think to look."

"What about my life — my job? The police are going to have more questions for me."

He spoke against her ear. "I will take you anywhere you wish to go." He stepped back. "You can leave on your own power of course, but without one of us with you, you cannot return."

She glanced around the room. "And all my things are here?"

He gestured to a short hallway. "In your room."

Elder Nita knelt beside a low table.

Amir knelt beside her and began pouring hot tea into small cups. "We gathered your laptop and research but with no Internet or electricity here, we will need to orb you back and forth so you can work."

Nita nudged a cup across the table. "Come sit with us first. A warm stomach and calm heart will wisen in your counsel."

Phoebe slowly walked towards their table. As she knelt before her cup, Sy knelt beside her. She stared down at her steaming cup. "This isn't a binding potion or something is it?"

Elder Nita sipped and slurped her tea. "Your tea is as it appears: harmless."

Sy's brow furrowed slightly as he picked up the cup before him. "We will never lie to you Phoebe. We ask you do not lie to us."

"I trusted the seer and I trusted my husband." Phoebe touched her cup, but did not lift it. "I wonder if they trusted me."

Phoebe looked around the table as the others drank their tea. She lifted her cup and sipped hers.


	3. To Control or Care

**Chapter 3: To Control or Care**

"I can't sense Phoebe." Leo opened his eyes as Piper stomped out of the kitchen.

"Paige! Mia!"

Paige ran down the stairs and Mia looked up from the couch.

"Where's Phoebe?" Planting her hands on her hips Piper demanded, "Why can't Leo sense her?"

Paige frowned, "like anywhere?"

Mia stood to face them. "Your sister is safe."

Piper growled, "Safe where? How?"

Paige looked between Leo and Mia. "They were just supposed to stay with her — like bodyguards — that's what you said."

"She is not anywhere she did not choose to be."

It was Leo's turn to scowl, "what does that mean?"

"The others prepared a safe house for her. It was her choice to go; it is her choice to leave, but as long as she's there, she's invisible to outside magic."

Paige pulled out her cell phone. "I'm calling her."

Mia watched her dial.

With the phone to her ear, Paige looked at Piper, "straight to voicemail."

Piper's gaze snapped to Mia. "Take us to our sister. Now."

"I can arrange contact only in the case of emergencies. Your distrust of the elders does not constitute an emergency."

Paige huffed, "so we're just supposed to take it on faith that we'll see her again?"

"Like hell."

Mia lifted an eyebrow. "We anticipate she'll make frequent trips to her place of work. At such times, she'll be able to receive and return calls." She glanced at Leo. "And you'll be able to sense her."

"Not good enough."

Leo placed a hand on Piper's shoulder.

"I am not here to keep you satisfied with the arrangement. My orders are to keep you separated — that is all."

Piper swung her chin. "Unbelievable." She stomped up the stairs toward the attic.

Paige followed. "We'll find her ourselves."

Leo stayed with Mia. "You're not concerned."

"They will not find her without my help."

"If the Elders had told me they planned to move her, I could have prepared them."

"It's my understanding plans are being made and unmade, re-made and changed with every new variable that comes to the Elders' attention. The one constant is that the Charmed Ones are in danger. If they die now, the next generation of Halliwell magic won't be born. I'm here to ensure it will." She sighed, "with or without your help." She sat back down and closed her eyes.

Leo stared at the back of her head a moment before orbing out of the room.

Upstairs, Piper dropped her crystal on the map. "If we can't call or scry for her, then we'll wait for her."

Paige closed the book of shadows, "Where?"

"The newspaper. She didn't quit her job when she became Queen of Evil. I doubt she'll quit now."

"You think Phoebe's still Queen? I mean, I know she doesn't want to be but Mia made it sound like she doesn't have a choice."

"Mia makes it sound like none of us do — which is why I'm ignoring her."

"Solid plan." She held out her hand, "so newspaper it is."

As soon as Piper took her hand, she felt herself being orbed out.

* * *

Far away from those she loved, Phoebe leaned against the open front door to stare at the tall grass and clear sky.

Amir looked up from the bottom step. "You may enjoy walking outside. The sounds and smells here promote peace."

"How?"

Elder Nita appeared behind her. "There is magic in nature. Magic which communicates with even the dormant parts of ourselves."

Phoebe turned to her. "You think part of me is dormant?"

"But perhaps right now you'd derive more peace from the familiar, from your work." Elder Nita returned to the low table where Sy still sat with his eyes closed.

He'd said he'd take her anywhere she wanted to go. Of the three, he was the only one who'd said that.

Phoebe looked back at the sky. She'd never know if he meant it unless she asked.

She slowly walked across the room to stand before him and leaned over. "I don't want to borrow my child's power to return to the city. Will you take me back?"

He opened his eyes and offered his arm.

Reluctantly, she took it and saw dark wood replaced with white walls and dirty carpet.

Releasing his arm, she reached for the glass doors of the newsroom.

At this time of night, it was mostly quiet and dark — save for a few desk lamps. The door to her office opened and her assistant stepped out.

"Carly, what are you doing here so late?"

The blonde woman smiled, "what are you doing here at all? I thought you were working from home. I just scanned over another batch of letters."

"I wanted to stop by, grab some research. Everything okay here?"

"You're meeting deadlines and I'm keeping your office clean but locked, so all is well. If you ever need me to fax or email you anything, I'm on it."

"Thanks, you're sweet."

"Just grateful." She smiled wider. "Elyse gave me a shot because of you."

"She used one of your photos?"

"Below the fold, but still front page. I'm shadowing Ralph, but she's letting me go solo soon. You talked me up to her. I owe you."

Phoebe waved off the gratitude, "you're talented. She took one look at your portfolio and saw what everyone sees."

Flustered at the praise, Carly picked up her camera bag and purse. "Well, I'll get out of your hair. I sorted the mail and wiped off the dust, but everything is right where you left it."

"Thank you Carly. Have a good night." She squeezed her arm and smiled as she passed her.

Carly raised her eyebrows at Sy. "You too."

Shaking her head, Phoebe smiled and walked into her office.

She flipped on the light and looked around. Before, during and after her marriage to Cole, this part of her life remained constant. This desk and chair, the work here felt like her only safe haven.

She ran her hand along her desk as she walked around it.

Just standing in this room again comforted her.

She sat in her creaky, tipsy office chair and surveyed the beautiful stacks of work surrounding her.

Hearing a click, she looked up to see Sy closing the door — with him outside of it. Through her window to the office, she saw the back of his head. He was sitting just outside her office, guarding her — but in a way she barely noticed.

She could pretend he wasn't there, so she did exactly that.

* * *

Long after the sun rose, Piper stumbled out of her room and bumped in Pair in the hallway. "You sleep late too?"

Paige yawned. "I guess it has been a pretty crazy couple of weeks. Push, push, pass out."

Piper stretched her arms, "Well, we gotta get to work."

"You first. I've got to shower and put on my face."

Piper rolled her eyes and began putting her hair into a bun.

Downstairs, Leo sat at the kitchen table staring at the newspaper.

Mia sat across from him with a cup of tea. "You're welcome to tell them what I did."

Without looking up, he grumbled, "You'll just do it again."

"My relationship with your charges is separate from your relationship with them. You feel you've broken their trust, so restore it."

"And what about the trust between you and I?" He set down his paper. "I go to ask the Elders about Phoebe and you dose the sisters with memory dust so they forget they were ever worried about her."

"It's interesting watching a Whitelighter lie." She smiled. "The Elders have no new information about Phoebe. You went to ask them about me."

"They said you and the others volunteered for this."

"We did." She sipped her tea. "Proudly."

"What aren't you saying?"

"I don't need your trust — nor theirs. My only task is to –"

"Keep them separated."

She set down her mug. "Precisely."

"Except for when they need the Power . . . when Phoebe will be placed in a stressful situation which required her to use magic. Won't those be the moments she's the most dangerous?"

"Which is why I'm here – to judge if and when reunion is necessary."

"It's not enough to be around the sisters. To have all the relevant information, you'll need them to include you, to trust you."

"Your charges are awake." She looked at her cooling tea. "You can sense all three of them, yes?"

He stood away from the table, "yes."

"I recommend they try calling her again before she's moved out of range."

Striding out of the kitchen, he almost bumped into Piper coming down at the stairs.

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'm heading to the club. I'll stop by the market on the way home. Need anything?"

"Didn't you want to check on Phoebe?"

She frowned, "isn't that against the rules?"

"You could call her."

"I'll try her from the club." She reached for her keys on the side table. "But she should be fine, right? I mean she's got literal guardian angels now."

Paige ran down the stairs finger combing her wet hair. "This is the first day we don't have to worry about Phoebe."

"And you'll sense if she needs us, right?" Piper turned around at the front door.

Leo took a deep breath, "not necessarily. They moved her out of the penthouse to somewhere I can't sense, somewhere cloaked."

Page pat his shoulder as she passed him. "Don't take it personally man. You can't be too careful with the super Source baby, you know?"

Piper shook her head. "I'll never get used to little Phoebe terrifying magical beings everywhere."

Page open the door, "not for long though."

Piper sighed, "just seven more months of weird."

Leah watched them walk out of the door. He took one step towards them and stopped. He turned back to the kitchen. "They know she's been moved."

Mia continued washing her mug. "In their minds everything occurred as you and I remember it save for your reaction and thus their reaction."

"My reaction?"

"You worried for her as if she was not in the safest hands you can imagine."

"There are very few comforting explanations for losing track of a charge."

"And her recent stay in the underworld is still fresh in your mind." She returned the mug to the cupboard. "As is Prudence Halliwell's passing."

"Pru . . . Everyone called her Pru."

She turned to face him. "You are not the first to make family of a charge. You and I have not met before, but I suspect you've heard of me."

Leo shook his head.

"One thousand years before your human life, I was assigned to a woman belonging to a small coven. During a full moon celebration, they and most of their families were killed. Eighteen children were left behind." She dried her hands on her apron. "I was given a new assignment which I refused. I asked that all of my current charges be reassigned so I could stay."

"I know this story. The children grew to do great deeds and at their deaths, each became a whitelighter." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "You're called the Mother of Angels."

"By some." She smiled sadly. "There are other, less flattering names for me."

"I've never heard them."

"You haven't spent much time with the Angels of Death and Destiny."

"I was told if I die by darklighter magic, yours will be the first face I see. You tend to our souls after our second death."

She tilted her head. "I was told to expect you once. In preparation, I learned about your lives and loves. I'm glad we've met a different way."

"Why did you volunteer for this assignment?"

"My child asked me to."

Leo's jaw dropped again. "One of the Blessed is with Phoebe?"

"This will be the most we've seen each other in several ages. Should a whitelighter die during this time, though, another will take my place here."

Leo nodded. "Thank you for coming."

"I'll be accompanying Miss Matthews today. I entrust your wife into your care."

Seeing her start to orb, he held up his hand. "Why didn't the elders tell me who you were?"

"Our pasts aren't secrets Leo. They're just rarely relevant to the task at hand."

Before he could form a reply, white lights whisked her away from him.

He leaned against the kitchen island and breathe deeply. He'd just met the mother of angels. He'd just argued with her too. Life could not feel more surreal to him right now.


	4. We Can't be Sure

**Chapter 4: We Can't be Sure**

Phoebe woke with a sore neck.

Sitting up from her desk, she grimaced. The blinds to the office were still open. She could see her coworkers glancing at her. A different man sat where Sy had. His profile looks like Amir's.

Turning to her computer, she logged off her email account and exited out of the web browser. She powered off her laptop and gather the papers she wanted to take with her. After shoving them in an old totebag, she stood slowly, wincing as her neck protested her movements. She walked out of her office and locked it behind her.

Amir looked up.

She frowned, "So I can really stay as long as I want?"

"The choice is yours."

Nodding to herself she continued walking out of the office. Amir followed behind her.

Once inside the stairwell, she turned around. "I'm ready to go back."

Amir came to her side and offered his arm. Cement walls were replaced with wood ones.

She glanced around the small space. "Where are the others?"

"Tending the garden and the animals." He unwound his arm from hers. "We do not need their sustenance but you do."

"I'm not gonna have to butcher anything here, am I? Because I'd rather not learn that."

He smiled. "Breathe now. The land outside these walls is peaceful. You will enjoy exploring it."

She walked past the front door and continue down the hall. An open door revealed a large canopy bed. The curtains were transparent but had a colorful sheen wherever sunlight graced them.

She stepped closer and reached for an edge. Pulling it back, she saw the white fluffy bedding — clean and welcoming. She crawled onto and into it reveling in its softness.

She lay on her side to face the window. This bed faced the same direction as her room at the Manor. Watching the sun rise higher, her eyelids drooped lower. She dreamed of thin clouds, tall grass and suffocating amounts of smoke.

* * *

Phoebe woke sweating and disoriented. She pressed her face against the pillow and her hand against her stomach.

Practicing her deep breathing, she noticed the sound of wind chimes and the smell of butter. Her stomach growled its annoyance with her.

She sat up and rubbed her face with both hands. She was still wearing Paige's clothes. Dropping her hands into her lap, she saw the chest of drawers and covered baskets. She slid off the bed to open them. As she suspected, her possessions were neatly folded and packed inside. She didn't know how to feel about that.

She picked up the first blouse and pants she saw and changed. She placed Paige's skirt and knit top inside a basket. Straightening, she realized her room had no mirror.

Opening the connecting door, she did found the small bathroom — also mirror-less. She turned on the sink and splashed water over her face. Then she undid her messy ponytail and smoothed her hair down.

She didn't feel like herself, but she didn't expect to; her husband was dead and her unborn child was controlling more and more of her. She leaned against the doorframe and waited for her hot flash to pass.

If Piper were here, she'd tell her to eat something. With that thought in mind, she left her room in search of food.

The smells grew stronger as well as the low murmur of voices.

"I have no issue with goats. This particular goat seems to have an issue with me."

"Ah." Sy nodded at Amir. "Must have been something you said."

Phoebe's huff of laughter through their gaze. "Hi."

She looked over at Elder Nita stirring a large pot.

"If you're feeling well enough, we've prepared soup and bread."

"Thank you. It smells nice — like something Piper would make."

Nita reached for a bowl. "Your sister is a talented chef."

Nita filled several bowls and Phoebe carried them to the low table where Amir sliced bread and Sy poured tea. Nita brought spoons and distributed them. Phoebe sat and stared at the open door. The breeze felt as good as it smelled.

They ate quietly and Phoebe was glad of it. She wanted to ease her mind into this new day.

When they finished their meal, Nita spoke softly, "There is a spring nearby just hot enough to ease your aches."

Phoebe rubbed the back of her neck with both hands. "How did you know?"

"You features are exceptionally expressive."

Phoebe wrinkled her nose and began clearing dishes. "Well, the spring sounds nice, but what else needs to be done? Does the goat need something?"

Amir scrunched his nose. "A firm scolding — definitely."

Sy shook his head. "Advising humans is your responsibility. Providing you shelter and safety is ours."

Nita gestured towards the open door. "Go on dear, let your body catch up to the events surrounding it."

Phoebe nodded and slowly walked outside.

She heard steps behind her, then they were drifting far from her side. She looked over and saw Amir leading the way.

She followed him to a path in the grass. They passed wooden fences and sheds. Farther on, they passed a deep blue pond. The air felt warm and smelled sweet.

She wondered again where she was, where they'd chosen to hide her. Someday, she might want to come back. When all this was over, maybe they'd tell her. She didn't want to ask though, lest even that small hope be crushed.

Amir turned and stopped. She stopped beside him and saw the tendrils of steam before them.

He sat against a tree facing away from the spring. When he didn't say anything, she's stooped at the edge of the spring and began undressing. She dipped her toes in the water, testing it. Grateful for the warmth, she knelt and slid in.

A moan escaped her. She found a groove in the side that fit her perfectly. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes.

The subtle breeze blowing through the grass was the prettiest music she'd ever heard. And as she held her stomach and dozed, she felt her heart tighten and remember. Out of her blurred memories erupted his broken voice, _"I would never do anything to hurt you. . . . Whatever happens next, we can get through it together."_

When Cole said those words, he'd frightened her, but now — now, that promise of together burned from her heart to her throat and eyes. Remembering how he looked at her while she was killing him, she knew he'd meant it: he would have stood by her through anything.

She'd promised to do the same.

And she had . . .

Until she couldn't anymore.

Everything happened too fast that night. They hadn't even finished their fight, and he was gone. She wanted to go back -to scream and beg, demand he figure this out with her — not alone or with the Seer, but with her.

She wanted them to work out their complicated life without the influence of demons or sisters. She just wanted _him_, and she'd killed him . . .

If she could take it back, she would. She wanted to tell him that, but he probably already knew. Her lips twitched. Sometimes, it felt like they shared one heart. He never told her he regretted the coronation, but she knew he did. He'd hoped it would assure their safety, but it only made their lives _more_ dangerous. That power put targets on both their backs.

Like he said: it was a one way door and they'd walked through it together. He lived and died with the consequences and so would she.

She lifted her hands out of the water and stared at her temporary wrinkles. She was going to grow old alone just as her spell had shown her she would. She'd conjured a future version of herself and heard the bitterness that awaited. Vanquishing Cole sealed her fate.

Numbly, she climbed out of the water and began dressing. When she finished, she came to stand before Amir.

He looked up at her. "You do not look relaxed."

"The last time I let my guard down, I was poisoned with pure evil."

He stood. "What do you imagine evil is?"

"What?"

"Leo told the Elders of the Seer's tonic. Curious, we searched your dwelling and—"

"You're the ones who stole it from the safe."

"That tonic contained more than the Seer's blood."

"Yes, evil."

"Procured by evil means perhaps, but no substance is inherently good or evil."

"So, what was I drinking?"

"Liquefied unicorn horn. Twice a day, you were drinking pure magic."

"But unicorns are a source of good magic. How'd she even get it — and why?"

"To enhance the child's powers and stabilize your pregnancy. Simple contact with the unicorn lessons anxiety and inspires equanimity — even one trained to kill."

"But unicorns are peaceful — you just said."

"It was fearless and fueled by its magic so were you. Without it, you rely on the power inside you. You channel it like a reflex."

"I'm not taking another tonic."

"And no one is asking you to." He nodded. "We are committed to helping you manage your emotions naturally."

She shouted at him, "then why are we talking about it?"

He looked at the ground as she caught her breath. "Betrayals are rarely pure. They are tainted with attachment, full of contradiction. Your Seer tried to control your family, but she also tried to preserve it. She lied less than you fear she did; she helped more than you know."

"You're defending her?"

"I'm defending you and your judgment. You trusted the seer to help you with your pregnancy and she did — in the best way she knew how. Unicorns are not easy to come by."

Phoebe turned and began strolling back the way they came. This time, Amir walked beside her.

"If I hadn't killed her, she would have taken my baby."

"I do not doubt your instincts; neither should you."

She raked her fingers through her hair. She needed to wash it. She just wished she could wash her insides too. She wanted to scrub away her pain and the memories that caused them. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw Cole telling her he'd _always love her_ — right before she destroyed him. She swore she could smell the smoke of him. It fused to the inside of her nose and the back of her throat.

"You're smoking."

She looked over at him. "What?"

He pulled her hands from her hair. "Your head is smoking."

She closed her eyes as the heat if it sunk through her skull.

"Breathe." He held onto her arms. "And think about each breath." He sounded strained. "Breathe in -deep, deep, deep. Hold that breath inside you. Hold it. Slowly, let it go. And again. Deep, deep breathe in. And hold it. Feel it and release."

She clenched his forearms and breathed with him until the heat subsided. "My head was on fire wasn't it?"

"You deserve to grieve, but I recommend waiting. Try not thinking about why you're here and just be here."

"And if I can't?" Phoebe sniffed back tears.

"If we thought you could do this alone, we wouldn't have come. You are surrounded by support and care. You will get through this."

She wasn't sure she believed him. After a few more deep breaths, she continued towards the house focused on each step and breath along the way.


	5. So We Trust

**Chapter 5: So We Trust**

Phoebe watched two goats bound up a small hill. Front feet — hop, back feet; front feet — hop, back feet. The smile she felt insider her didn't reach her lips. The distance between her face and her heart seemed too great right now. She leaned harder against the fence and sighed.

A small box slipped into her line of sight. She looked at Elder Nita's hand holding it. "What's that?"

"You miss your sisters. This can help."

Phoebe accepted the box and slid off the wood lid. Inside was what looked like handmade paper. It was flecked and textured and was cut the size of stationery. Beside the paper was an old fashioned pen. She ran her fingers over the gift. "You think I should write them letters?"

"You should write to anyone you wish to talk to. You'll breathe easier with less words inside you."

Phoebe slid the lid closed. "Thank you."

Nita walked away as quietly as she'd approached.

Phoebe turned around and sat against the fence. She felt the wet ground seep into her pants and chill her skin. The sun slowly set leaving a trail of cold breezes. She focused on the breeze as she watched the red clouds. She tried not to think of the underworld or her loneliness or the words "I'll always love you."

Stars poked holes in the darkening sky.

Low lights illuminated the windows of home. This place and these people were temporary but right now, they were all she had. So she pushed herself off the damp ground and returned inside.

She found Sy and Amir around the table of tea. She walked past them without a word and went to her room. She closed the door behind her and set her box of paper on the closest chest. Then she crawled back into bed. She hugged her pillow, closed her eyes, and tried not to think of anything.

When she woke, her room was darker than before and her stomach was twisting and groaning. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and hair. She stumbled to the door and fumbled her way back to the tea table. "You guys haven't moved."

Sy raised a brow. "On the contrary, we've moved great distances since last night."

Phoebe shook her head trying to make sense of his words.

Nita explained, "you slept through the day dear."

Phoebe rubbed her growling stomach.

Amir lifted up a plate of bread and cheese. "Sit. Eat. Drink."

She sat across from Elder Nita and watched Amir pour her tea. "I've never slept that long before."

"You likely will again. Your child needs both your physical and magical energy to grow."

She sipped her tea, "dealt with a lot of magical pregnancies have you?" Not expecting an answer, Phoebe picked at a piece of bread and stared at the open door. It revealed another pretty day. "What happened to him — I mean to his soul? Where is it now?"

Nita and Amir shared a glance, but Sy's gaze stayed on Phoebe. He answered, "what remains of your husband is in a portion of the underworld known as the wasteland. The most powerful dark magics are sent there to be disassembled and reused."

"Re-used how?"

"They are reincarnated much like souls are."

"So we didn't really destroy the Source."

Nita leaned forward. "Let's just say it's been put on the shelf for a few lifetimes."

"And Cole's soul?"

"We don't know."

Phoebe dropped her bread and stared at its many crumbs. "I didn't have to kill him. There was another way; there had to be. I just wanted it over."

Nita's hand covered Phoebe's. "We're not here to judge dear."

"I barely understand what happened. I don't know how I'll explain it to our child."

"Over many years, you'll find your way through."

Phoebe pulled her hand back. "I think I'm going to go back to bed."

Amir collected her dishes. "There's something we'd like you to see first. It's only a short stroll away."

She nodded and stood. Nita and Sy walked out the door. Phoebe and Amir followed. She hadn't gone anywhere with all three of them since they first brought her here. Whatever this was felt important. She followed them past chickens and goats and fences and grass.

Beyond blowing trees she saw the sheen of water. Her trio of helpers stopped at the edge of the pond; she stopped beside them. They sat on boulders and trunks so she sat as well. No one looked at her or spoke; they just stared at the water.

She waited.

And waited.

The water didn't change; it didn't move. The sun fell beyond the horizon of grass and still nothing emerged from the pond. But as a breeze played in the trees behind her, she felt her body settle. Muscles she didn't even know she had began to relax. Tension left her with every breath.

She felt light and malleable.

Nita stood and the men beside her did too. "Would you like to go back now?"

Phoebe looked up at her not feeling steady enough to stand yet. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"The water . . . "

"Will be here tomorrow."

Sy held out his hand to her, but she didn't take it. She stood on her own power and followed them back. Once inside the house, she continued past them to her room.

She wanted to call Piper but she didn't want to leave this bed. She reached for the box on the floor and pulled it onto the bed with her. Moving the lid, she stared at the stack of papers. She imagined they were already covered and what she wanted to say to Piper and Paige, Leo and Prue, the Seer and Cole she lifted a single sheet and lay it on the lid.

With pen in hand, she started the most important letter: "Dear little one" her pen paused as she thought about what she most wanted to say to life growing inside her. She slowly formed the words: "I'm sorry."

* * *

Piper closed the door behind her and dropped her keys into her purse. Setting it down in the entryway, she saw Leo coming out of the kitchen.

"Inspection go okay?"

"It was fine. Stressful but fine. Paige home?"

He shook his head. "Working late again. Mia is bringing her dinner."

Piper continued to the kitchen. "What did she make this time? It smells amazing."

"That's the bread bowls for the chili."

Turning the corner, she smiled at the kitchen counter. "What are we going to do without her?" She took off her jacket revealing her baby bump. "Seriously, two babies and four full-time working adults. Won't be surprised if Paige moves out just to get some peace."

He put his arms around her. "We'll get a nanny — two nannies if we have to."

"And just hope magic doesn't terrify them? She's healing me from the womb. Who knows what she'll be able to do once she'd born. I mean the terrible twos could be extra terrible."

"Your mom managed. So did your gram." He leaned his head against hers. "Your entire family line is a series of women who figured this out."

"None of them had Angel babies."

"And I'll be figuring this out with you — every step of the journey."

She rested against him. "And they're sure none of the white lighters can stay after her baby is born."

"They're just here to preserve the balance of magic. Who our children grow to become is all us."

Sighing, she smiled up at him. "Any letter from Phoebe today?"

He nodded, "Mia left it on the kitchen table."

Piper stepped out of his embrace and walked into the wonderfully smelling kitchen. She spared a glance for the meal before sitting down with her letter.

"_Hi Piper, _

_I wish I could see your growing belly, but I don't mind no one seeing mine. I'm still dropping off my columns in the middle of the night, so no one there knows. Nita says once the baby is born, I'll be too busy to care what people think or ask. I'll be too tired to think of anyone but the baby. I hope that's true. _

_Being too tired to think sounds kinda perfect._

_For now, though, I'm embracing the crazy. Like you, I hate the idea of maternity clothes, so I go back and forth between wearing too tight clothes or borrowing an Elder robe. Today has been a rope day. If you're still hating all your clothes, ask Leo to swipe you an Angel-robe. It's like wearing a cloud. Talk soon, Phoebe."_

Piper pulled and scratched at her skin tight shirt. "Leo!"

* * *

Sitting against a boulder, Phoebe stared at the pond. With her Angel-hood up, she didn't see him approach.

Sy crouched beside her. "Come to a decision?"

She looked at her hands on her knees. "Putting it off any longer means not doing it at all."

"Only you know if this will help or hurt."

"You guys have been so against me tapping into the baby's magic."

"And for good reason, but you deserved to know this possibility exists."

"What if I bring him back with me?"

"Only the greatest magic can come and go in the wastelands. You and your child are one. You and Cole are not."

"But he has the Source's magic."

"The spell you and your sister used separates the magic from the demon. Vanquishing the demon banishes it to a region of the underworld. No one knows what happens to the magic — where it goes or for how long. But magic cannot be destroyed.

"So he's human again."

"You vanquished his demon and separated him from his powers. All that remains is the soul."

She began unfastening her robe revealing a simple cotton frock. She handed the robe to him and stepped back. "So how do I do this?"

"Calmly." He folded the robe over his arm. "Think of Cole — feel for him and follow that feeling."

Placing her hands on her stomach, she closed her eyes. "And after?"

"Wherever you go, I'll find you."

She nodded and felt flames steadily rising around her. She let heat and smoke take her away from him. Even with her eyes closed, she sensed the darkness around her. The ground felt hard and uneven.

Opening her eyes, she realized the ground was far below her. She was actually on a pillar of rock. Her hands fell away from her stomach.

"Phoebe?"

She saw Cole on a nearby pillar. A small gap separated them. She nodded. "I'm here baby."

He leaped across the gap to stand before her. "How'd you find me?"

She reached for his hand. "I had some help."

He looked at her stomach. "Oh Phoebe."

She pulled his hand to the side of her baby bump. She held it there until the baby kicked. His whole body startled. The dark red sky thundered and she jumped too.

She glanced around the empty desert. "Where are the others?"

He stroked her stomach. "This isn't a place to linger, but I do." His eyes took in every future of her face. "Why have you come?"

"To see you again, to tell you I'll always love you too. I don't know what I should have done differently, but I would do everything differently to keep things from ending this way."

His hand moved from her stomach to take her hand. "But you're well? The baby is okay?"

"We're safe." She enclosed his hand in both of hers. "This new life means our story doesn't end with us."

He almost smiled. "Have you picked a name yet?"

"Haven't really thought about it."

He nodded, "protecting a family is a heavy load. I'm sorry you're doing it alone."

"I know everything you did was for us, for me."

"I don't know what I'd do different either."

Nodding, she looked down at their hands. "Any name ideas?"

"If it's a girl . . . maybe Sophia? It was my grandmother's name."

"Tell me something about her."

"She was human — the most human person I've ever met until you. She said through our children and our children's children we live forever. New souls carry the old souls with them."

Her face started to crumble. "I shouldn't have said that spell." She sobbed, "I should have found another way."

"No." He rubbed her shoulders. "You did the right thing for you and our child."

"We could have just left — disappeared."

"We would've been hunted."

"But we'd be together."

"And you wouldn't have been you." He stooped to catch her gaze. I didn't know how to keep the magic around you and growing inside from taking you over; I still don't, but you found a way." He smiled. "I see it; I see you."

She sniffed, "I see you too."

The ground rumbled.

He looked down. "We should move or you should leave . . . "

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Let's move."

* * *

Elder Nita sat on a boulder and stared at the pond. "I'm doubting the wisdom of your decision."

Sy tossed a stone at the water. It skipped along the surface a dozen times. "It wasn't my decision; it was hers."

She sighed, "She may not come back you know."

"I know." He picked up another stone and turned it over in his hand. "Amir is with Mia?"

"He asked her to come because he feared this assignment. Now he's gone to her because he fears it's over."

He tossed the stone and watched it skip. "She's unpredictable. Mia and Phoebe have that in common."

"Is that why you've come? Has overseeing the Elders become too boring, too predictable for you?"

He smirked at her, "Perhaps."

"What game are you playing with the Angel of Destiny?"

"And here I thought you'd be happy for my help."

She waited for him to move so she could see his eyes again. "But you didn't come to help, did you?"

"I wanted to meet the Dark Charm and now I have."

"So what happens next isn't your concern?"

In a flat tone, he replied, "you forget your place."

"Amir and I were willing to give up our immortality to preserve her, and we and her mean nothing to you."

"Was it not you who reprimanded the Council for considering separating mother and child? You declared some bonds must be respected."

"Her tie to that tainted soul is not one of them."

"So long as you approve all the options, you defend her right to choose."

"We cannot go to the wastelands. Should she choose to stay, we will not know what becomes of the child."

"Have faith young flame." Sy rested his hand on her shoulder. "Although we cannot see her path, she may yet be on a noble one."

"She will be condemning her child and herself. Where is the nobility in that?"

"Destiny does not know her future. What chance have we?"


	6. While Fear Brews Inside Us

**Chapter 6: While Fear Brews Inside Us**

Phoebe sat on a rock staring at the dark, storming land. Red lightning flashed in the distance. "How did we get here?"

Cold nudged her head against his shoulder. "I thought I wanted to be human with you, but it was never the human part that mattered. I just wanted to be me — with you. I was half demon when we met, half evil when I died."

"Our child will be like you."

He sighed, "maybe . . . Probably."

"What's going to happen to you?"

"Nothing that I don't deserve."

"I can't come back. I'm going to strip the baby's magic. I won't have the power to come back."

"It's the right decision. Our child safety is all that matters — it's all that's ever mattered."

Phoebe caressed their clasped hands. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you came and that we have these moments."

She smiled sadly. "You always wanted to take me to faraway places."

He watched both her hands hold his. "I wanted to take you everywhere."

"This place will make you hate me."

He kissed her forehead. They sat quietly together listening to thunder and windswept sand. In the darkness, peace filled them. There was no future or past — only them, together . . . eternally together.

She whispered, "I want to stay — so much." She cried, "I want to stay with you."

He smiled sadly. "As much as I want to leave with you."

She brought her hand to her chest as if to keep her heart in place.

He murmured, "It just wasn't meant to be."

Sitting up, she lifted her lips to his. Their kiss felt more tentative than their first one. The pain of this moment left no room for passion. She pulled back and stared into his familiar, tortured eyes. His love for her had been hurting him since the beginning, but that love had only grown. She spoke against his lips, "we may not have been meant for each other, but you will always be the love of my life." She felt his half smile before he kissed her again.

When he pulled back, he also stood. "It's time for you to go."

She stood too. "If it's a girl I'll name her Sophia; if it's a boy I'll name him after you."

His already glassy eyes shed a tear. "Cole Halliwell."

She caressed his cheek. "Take care of yourself." She stepped back and closed her eyes. She could feel him watching her. She took a deep breath and let it out with the words, "I love you."

Flames engulfed her. The feeling of him disappeared like so much smoke.

Feeling grass between her toes she fell upon it and clawed the damp dirt. Groans from the bottom of her soul carried over the pond. She heard her own keen echo around her. She held her pounding head and screamed. From across the water, the Elders watched her burn.


	7. Other Emotions, Harder to Name,

**Chapter 7: Other Emotions, Harder to Name,**

* * *

Fire spread from her head down along her arms. The pain grew so quickly and sharply that her only thought was of death. She wanted this to be over — all of it. Pressure on her wrists made her whimper.

The pressure slipped between her hands to cover the back of her neck. "Look at me."

She felt a wall against her for head.

"Open your eyes."

She fought against the pressure caging her neck and brow. The pressure began to burn hotter than flames. She screamed again; she couldn't stop.

The pressure and pain began to shake her. "Reach outside yourself and look at me!"

Her eyelids flew open. She saw eyes more alive than any others. She felt what she saw before she saw it— overwhelming strength and calm. And love. . . . love that bloomed inside of her and grew out towards its source. Brown eyes met hers and didn't blink.

His hands at the back of her neck and his forehead against hers still burned — as did the flames, but she didn't want to die anymore — not as long as she kept feeling this peace. Her hands fell from her head and onto his arms. She clung to Sy like she'd never clung to anything.

"You feel that?"

She managed to nod.

"That's yours. From now on, it's all yours."

Tears fell onto her mouth — open with silent screams. She felt to full — too small — too much all at once. A blackness clouded her site. She couldn't see him, but she felt him . . . Until she couldn't feel anything.

Sy accepted her weight gathering her more into his arms.

Elder Nita stood over them. "What have you done?"

He looked up. "This is one act Des will not fault me for."

"She may not survive this."

"We're not here to watch her die."

Nita knelt beside him. "I know why I am here." Her voice gentled, "Why are you?"

Sy watched the flames around her dissipate before answering. "When she wakes, ask her."

* * *

"He what?"

Phoebe lay on her bed groggy and feverish. Nita placed a fresh towel on her forehead. "He accelerated the growth of your magic. You have abilities now you would not otherwise have had for years — maybe even decades."

"I can't take any more powers."

"Perhaps not." She patted her hand lying on the bed. "But it's done now."

Phoebe felt Nita's resignation as her own. She smiled wanly, "Active powers can really drain a girl, huh?"

"You won't feel steady or strong for a while yet — long after your child is born."

Phoebe closed her eyes. "Assuming I survive."

"We take nothing for granted."

She sighed, "any idea what these new powers will be?"

"One by one you shall discover them."

"You don't know?"

"No dear. But Sy does. It's why he did this; some magic that you are destined to wield might aid you now."

She raised her hand to remove the cloth from her brow. "Where is he?"

"Making you something to eat."

Sadness emanated from Nita like a cloud. Phoebe felt choked by. "Will I see my sisters again?"

"Somewhere, sometime, perhaps."

She shifted on the bed trying to find a position that didn't ache. "The baby is quiet."

Nita nodded.

Phoebe knew she should feel worried; she should ask more questions — press for answers, but she just felt weary and calm . . . Like her child's safety was guaranteed.

Nita pat her hand and started to stand as Sy entered with a tray. "He's brought you bone broth. It'll settle easily and maybe give you a bit of energy." She walked out of her room without looking at Sy.

He took her place on the chair beside her bed.

Phoebe didn't feel soaked with sadness anymore. She felt . . . Pleased. She let him help her set up and licked her dry lips. "Why do I feel . . . good?"

He placed the tray on her lap. "Because I do, and right now, you can't discern my feelings from your own."

"That doesn't make sense. My feelings are—"

"Weaker than mine."

"The hell they are." She glared and he dared to smirk.

"You will have the opportunity to learn just how relative feelings are. What others call despair, you may feel as melancholy." He tilted his head. "And what I may describe as interest or pity, you may feel—"

"as love," she whispered.

"Yes."

"I want to feel like me."

"When you are truly alone, you will."

"Truly?"

"You'll need a great distance between you and others to not be affected by them." He handed her the bowl which she began to sip. "Which is why I must discourage future visits to your place of work and other populated areas."

She frowned. "But I can still go at night when it's empty, right?"

"You would sense the feelings of the janitors, night workers, pedestrians and residents of the entire city."

She sat down her bowl. "Pru had this before she died. She couldn't be around people."

He nodded. "And I accelerated your development to a sensitivity much greater than her borrowed empathy."

Despite the calm she felt, tears gathered and fell down her cheek. "Why did you do this to me?"

He watched one of her tears. "You're upset but you're not on fire. Your child feels only the calm you are aware of." The tear fell from her cheek, and he caught it on his finger. "You can think about what you want, grieve how you want, and as long as my mood is stable, both of yours will be."

"You'll lose control — everyone does, and then I'll be in danger _because of __**you**_." Seeing him start to smile, she frowned.

"I have a bit of practice at being what I need to be. Your safety isn't in fates hands down, it's in mine."

She knew that shouldn't reassure her, but it did. She felt invincible. Her eyes moved to Amir lingering in the doorway.

Without looking at him, Sy spoke to him, "she came back to us — unharmed."

"She does not look well."

She squinted at him. "But you're not worried." She sensed devotion and affection, but he didn't feel a drop of anxiety — just relief.

"You are protected here."

She continued to sip her broth.

Sy sat back in his seat. He wasn't smiling anymore, but she felt his happiness. He wanted this. He wanted all of this. She didn't know what she wanted — maybe this, maybe something else . . . something impossible.

The heaviness in her limbs was hers. She could be sure of that. Lying back down, she focused on her own tiredness and aches. They were the only feelings she recognized.


	8. Overtake Us in Our Dreams

**Chapter 8: Overtake Us in Our Dreams**

* * *

Piper snuggled into Leo's arms and fell asleep in their warm dark room. In her dream, she was changing their babies diaper while trying to soothe the crying. She reached for a new diaper, but couldn't feel any. Still holding her baby's legs, she reached under the changing table; her hands felt empty shelf. She looked around the nursery and saw more empty shelves. The cries became louder and Piper felt like crying too.

Her dream wasn't the only one full of anxiety.

Paige was just putting up the last streamer when she noticed the other end was on fire. She orbed a vase of flowers at it to put it out. She let out a sigh of relief before noticing another streamer starting to burn — the streamer above the bassinet. She screamed.

In Leo's dream, he heard a scream. He heard crashes and breaking glass too. He orbed to the attic and howled at what he found: three bodies of those he loved most. There was no baby in sight.

The next morning, Piper, Paige and Leo were jumpy in their own ways.

Piper walked in with two full grocery bags of supplies.

Seeing the contents of her bags as she passed him, Leo frowned, "didn't we buy all those things last week?"

"Can never have too many diapers." She walked up the stairs without looking back.

"Piper."

Page pat his shoulder. "Right now man, logic is not your friend."

He sighed, "I guess not."

"Besides, I lean toward being over prepared rather than underprepared."

"Is that why there are three fire extinguishers in the kitchen?"

"Just for now; I'll put them around the house later today."

"You're still having nightmares?"

"We just can't be too careful. Right, Mia?"

Mia kept her eyes closed as if in meditation. "I'm surprised your home was not already equipped for fire."

Leo started to blush. "It was. It used to be when Piper was adjusting to her new power, but once she gained control . . ."

Paige nodded, "demons break stuff, but we haven't had a fire problem since Piper."

Leo frowned. "You think with the pregnancy shall lose control again?"

"She's been fine; I just don't want to take any chances."

"I wonder if Piper is having similar concerns."

"She seems pretty in-control and in-charge to me."

Leo looked at Mia. As he opened his mouth, she spoke, "everyone in this house is afraid, but try not to let fear overtake your mind. Clear thinking is your best ally."

His frown only deepened, "does that mean you're afraid to?"

Paige hung another streamer. "What do white lighters have to be afraid of — besides dark lighters?"

"The future is uncertain." Mia opened her eyes. "For all of us." She looked up. "I'm being called." She orbed out leaving Paige and Leo staring at her empty seat.

Paige shrugged, "well, that can't be good."

* * *

Piper and Paige sat in the living room. "If Phoebe had a premonition, doesn't that mean we'll need the Power of Three to save these weirdos."

"Weird assomnio – it's latin." Leo corrected.

"Whatever. So when are they bringing Phoebe?"

"Not until she's needed for a spell and even then — only for as long as it takes her to say it."

"Seriously?"

Mia nodded. "The dark Queen will begin labor at any moment. We cannot risk her being near you or you being near her during the birth."

"But the premonition means—"

"Someone needs help. Your sister is just not the person to help them — not now."

"So what do we do?"

"Follow her vision, and save your ability to dream."

* * *

Phoebe lay sweating on her bed. "If no one can find us — not even a Sandman — how have I been dreaming?"

Amir opened the window. "We have enough of anything you might need — including dream dust." He returned to her side and dabbed her for head with a damp cloth.

"Even though I'm the dark Queen. . ."

"Even so, you have premonitions and innocents to save."

"Innocents. . ."

He dipped cloth into a bowl of cool water. "You and your sisters call them that, but it doesn't make it so."

She tried to open her eyes and look at him. "The Sandman are."

"They did not let your husband dream."

"Because he was – he wasn't . . ." She shook her head.

"Even when he was human, they did not let him dream."

"How h-how do you know?"

"Weird Assomnios are predictable." Amir leaned on the table beside her bed. "More so than white lighters."

"What does that mean — that he couldn't dream?"

"He had one less tool to process anger, fear, loss. Your husband was prone to madness."

"Will our child be?"

"None of us know."

She struggled to bring her hand up and pull the cloth away. "But if we save them . . .?"

"They will be indebted to the Charmed Ones. And so whatever you choose, however you live — you will continue to dream. Your child is not charmed."

She reached for his hand. She didn't feel anything different or more clearly. "You're not sad or frustrated. You're not disappointed in the way things are."

Nita appeared with a plate of eggs. "Why would he be dear?"

Still holding his hand, Phoebe looked at Amir. "Your words don't match your feelings." Her head low towards Nita. "Yours either."

"You need to eat something now."

"I can't," she croaked.

"You must." Amir lifted Phoebe's back so she was sitting up while Nita sat at her side. She handed her a mug of water.

Phoebe looked down at her huge belly. "How long can we stay after? Where do I go?"

Nita nudged damp strands out of Phoebe's eyes. "You do not have any abilities you were not meant to have — eventually. There must be ways to manage them and still live in the world. Sy will find those ways."

Phoebe smirked as she picked up her fork. "In the meantime, I will have the emotional stability of my newborn."

"We will not leave you in a worse state than we found you. We cannot."

* * *

Mia closed the door on magically contained demons and flames and turned to face the living room. "These are manifestations of _**your **_dreams. Only you can understand them and save yourselves."

Leo threw up his hands. "That's what I said."

Paige shook her head. "Yeah, but Piper can't hear you dude."

Piper's gaze darted around the room. "Where is he? What's he saying?"

Page looked at Mia. "We're not exactly tired and these life-size dreams can't wait."

Leo stood next to Piper. "We need dream dust just for this to work."

Piper cradled her stomach. "We need dream dust."

Paige grinned. "You're absolutely right Piper, and I know just where to find some."

10 minutes later, they reconvened in the living room.

"Do you understand what you need to do?" Mia held a bowl of gold dust. Paige, Piper, and Leo sat on the couch.

Paige reached for a throw blanket. "I have to find the source of the fire."

Piper nodded, "and I have to find Leo."

"Hey." Leo shifted on the couch but Piper couldn't feel it. "I'm right here."

Mia step towards him. "So you are. And do you know what you have to do?"

"Not really. What kills the sisters in my dreams isn't mysterious — it's demons. Lots and lots of demons."

"Different than they've face before?"

He ran a hand through his hair shaking his head. "Just more."

Mia sat on the coffee table in front of them. "Dreams are open influence. You can interact with the world your mind makes — stop what's happening, change it or replay it."

"How does that help?"

"You come into the room at the end of the battle when your warriors are dead. You need to experience the beginning." Mia looked at the others. "Ready?"

They closed their eyes and waited for Mia to sprinkle them with the Sandman's remains.

One by one, they fell into the world of dreaming.

Paige found herself hanging the same streamer as before. The other end burst into flame. Instead of putting it out, she turned around. Fire climbed up the manner walls. A fireball shot to the hanging plant between Paige and the crib.

She screamed and jumped off the letter. Ducking under the burning plant covering her mouth with her sweater, she tried to shout, "Leave her alone!"

She kept looking for demons around the crib, but she couldn't see through the expanding smoke. She reached in and picked up the crying infant. Holding it close, she ran to the front door. Before she could touch the handle, another ball of fire incinerated it.

The fireball came from her — from the baby in her arms. Paige looked down and saw the baby giggling at the burning door. The baby looked up with a smile and its eyes flashed coal black and flames — just like the Source. Gasping, Paige dropped the baby and woke up.

She stared at her empty hands opening and closing them. "It was a baby. I was scared of the baby."

Mia open the door separating the living room from the conservatory. The flames faded to nothing and the containment crystals lost their glow.

Paige came to her side. "That kid is one half Phoebe and one half Source of all Evil. How are we ever going to feel safe? What if it hurts Piper's girl?"

"Have you talked to your sisters about your concerns?"

"They're going to hate me."

"They know you love them." Mia's fingers brushed her arm. "You are not your parents — not the ones who conceived you nor the ones who raised you. You are unique Paige. This powerful child is too; even without magic, this child will do unexpected things in this world. You fear the possible destruction instead of being in awe at the growth and healing that are also possible."

Paige turned away from the door. "I don't want my sisters to hurt anymore."

"Rejecting this child won't prevent them getting hurt."

Paige leaned back against the doorframe. "I just went through this with Cole. They loved him. Everyone trusted him but me — and I knew him completely human. Even stripped of his powers, Cole wasn't a good guy."

"He wasn't destined to save innocents like you and your sisters, but he did for a time. He gave up the life he knew for love of your sister, and she did the same when she became his queen." Mia smiled. "Of course those two would create a magical being whose future is a mystery."

"And that's what scares me."

Mia's brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything more. They both looked back at the others. In their sleep, Piper and Leo held hands. They looked like such a solid team. If only Piper felt that way . . .

In her dream, Piper was bathing her baby in the kitchen sink. The phone rang and she tensed. She glanced at the phone -on the wall and then back at her baby-filled hands. She let it ring and ring while she finished rinsing.

Reaching for a towel, she felt only hard counter. She looked around her, but no towel appeared. The baby started pulling on her hair making her eyes water. The phone continued to ring and the baby started to cry — so did Piper.

She whispered to herself, "find Leo." With a stronger voice she called "Leo!" She continued to cry "Leo."

White light appeared beside her. He looked down at his girls wet and crying. He bent over the sink and helped free Piper's hair from the tight baby hand. As a phone continued to ring, he called out "can somebody get back?"

Piper sobbed, "where were you?"

"Not far." He cooed to their baby. "One of your aunties picked up the chirpy phone. Probably for them anyway, right? Iss okay, you'll get plenty of phone calls when you're older."

Piper chuckled through her tears and woke up smiling. She turned to her husband on the couch and squeezed his hand. "Being pregnant at the same time as Phoebe, I've been thinking so much about being a single parent. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Paige came to sit across from her on the coffee table. "You Missy are never going to have to find out. Leo is a literal angel; you two got this."

Mia looked at the sleeping Leo. "You are not the only one with worries."

Leo scowled and mumbled in his sleep.

Piper murmured, "Leo, you can do this."

Leo heard her, but he wasn't so sure she was right. The beginning of the battle turned out to be demons completely surrounding the manner. He stared out of the attic window while the sisters bottled potions and frantically flipped through the Book of Shadows.

"It won't be enough," he whispered to himself. He didn't know what would be. How can one family fight off an army? He felt someone touch his shoulder.

Piper held out there baby to them. "Take her."

"I can't leave now. You guys need help."

Piper reached out and cupped his cheek. "I need you to do what I can't: orb our child to the heavens so she'll live another day."

He grabbed Piper's hand. "Come with me."

She kissed him briefly before pulling away. "This can't be your fight, but it is mine. Go. Leo. Go." They heard doors below crash open and footsteps coming up the staircase. "Go now."

Leo orbed away knowing exactly what he find when he returned.

He woke up crying.

Piper still held his hand. "What's wrong honey?"

Paige stood and walked to the conservatory door. "The demons are gone, so that's a plus."

Leo sat forward. "I couldn't change it."

Mia walked away from the conservatory door. "But you understood it."

"It was something Cole said."

Paige yelped, "Cole?"

A demon blinked into the living room.

Seeing him about to hurl death, Piper blew him up. "Not now." She bent forward trying to catch Leo's eyes. "You were saying."

"After Phoebe became his queen, I tried to find her, talk to her."

"We all did."

"The time I went on my own, I found Cole instead. It was an accident; I didn't think he could be reasoned with."

"What did he say to you?"

"That I had no idea what it was like to have everything to lose and everyone trying to take it away. He said I'd understand when I had kids."

"But Leo, there aren't factions of the underworld coming after her baby."

"Aren't there?" Leo stood up dropping Piper's hand. "If killing a Charmed One is a great trophy won't killing a charmed child be an undeniable proof of power?"

Paige pled, "You can't think like that."

Piper stood too. "Paige is right. We can keep our child is safe as we can, but you don't live in fear — you never have."

Leo glanced at Piper then at the floor. "The battle I've been dreaming about started with you handing me our baby and telling me to orb her away." He rung his hands. "I'm not a warrior; I'm a guide and you might need more than that. In my dream you did. In my dream, you died for lack of it."

Paige stepped towards him. "And in my dream, Phoebe's kid burned down the manor."

Piper turned to her. "What?!"

Paige kept her eyes on Leo. "They're just dreams. They're not premonitions. You and I don't have that power Leo. We can move things and hope things, but we can't know what's going to happen."

Mia stepped forward to. "In trying to hold on to what was most precious to him, Phoebe's husband lost everything of value. His lack of faith is why he won't see his child born today."

They all looked at her. "Today?"

Mia nodded. "While you slept, I received word that Phoebe started labor. I'm sure they'll let us know when the child is born."

Piper grinned with tears in her eyes. "And we can see her, right?"

Paige wrapped an arm around Piper. "We can see them both?"

Mia looked at Leo. "Right now, we wait with faith that all will be as it should. I can't see the future either. I know less than what I feel I need to know, but I trust. I trust in the goodness of those around me and the path they're on."


	9. We Beg the Lights to Help Us

**Chapter 9: We Beg the Lights to Help Us**

* * *

Sy sat behind Phoebe holding her up; his knees bracketed hers. Her body was being split in two, but she didn't feel stressed. She felt impenetrably calm. Looking at her emerging child, Amir and Nita emanated only peace.

Sy kept his gaze on Phoebe. With hands under hers, he murmured, "this pain will pass. Let it pass."

Grunting and shaking, she couldn't tell if she was freezing or burning. "Am I on fire?" She felt his head shake against hers.

Nita glanced up at her. "You are almost here dear child. Just a little more."

Phoebe squeezed both Sy's hands and breathed like they taught her to. She pushed and pushed and let all that power leave her body.

She watched Nita cut her baby free and Amir begin wiping the rest away.

She felt so weak, she wondered if they'd hear her voice asking, "is he okay?"

Keeping her eyes on the baby, Nita answered, "_**She**_ is healthy and strong."

Hearing her first cry, Phoebe sank back into Sy. She didn't have the energy to smile. The others didn't smile either. Lying drained and helpless, Phoebe had only one thought. She scratched Sy's hand for his attention. She couldn't look up at him, but she felt his eyes and ears focused on her. She forced her voice passed her scratchy throat, "I can't protect her; she has to be able to protect herself." She felt him become very still.

"You don't want to strip her powers."

"She could need them."

"She definitely will if she keeps him. Her power makes her target."

She shook her head. "Having me as a parent did that." She held out her arms for Nita to hand her the little girl. "Normal isn't in the cards for her. It wasn't for any of us."

Nita brushed Phoebe's wrist. "Your choice complicates matters."

Looking at Nita, Phoebe felt her own sadness rising to the surface. "They're already complicated."

Sy supported Phoebe's cradling arms with his. "We will not thwart your will. Your child will continue as she was born."

"Sophia. Sophia Halliwell."

Seeing Sy's expression, Nita bowed slightly. "As you will." She walked out of the room and Amir followed.

Phoebe felt herself fading to sleep. She struggled to keep her eyes on Sophie. "They're worried, but I can't feel it."

"Their worry is faint compared to my confidence in the decisions you make. My faith in you is the second strongest feeling here."

"What's the strongest?"

"Your love for her." Phoebe lost the battle to keep her eyes open. "Help her Sy. Always help her."

He murmured, "In all ways, for all time."

With his certainty pumping through her veins, she let sleep overtake her.


	10. They Seem Not to Hear

**Chapter 10: They Seem Not to Hear**

"What do you mean 'she might not be alive'?"

Hearing the strain and her voice, Leo's face contracted with sympathy. "The Elders think this was his plan all along: to get control of Phoebe and Cole's baby."

Piper chopped the air with her hands. "Who's him?! Mia!"

Leo waited with Piper and Paige a moment before accepting a dreaded truth. "She's not coming back."

"No, she was just here. She went to see the Elders, but she'll come right back."

Paige nodded "there's no way she'd leave us — especially now."

Leo turned away to gather the words they needed to hear. "Mia didn't go to the Elders."

"But they called her."

"And she didn't answer; none of them answered. It's not only that . . . The Blessed Ones are missing too."

"The blessed?"

"Mia's kids or protégés. One of them has been with Phoebe since the beginning. The other 17 disappeared along with Mia."

When Piper raised her hands again, a lamp exploded. "Disappeared where?!"

Paige sat on the closest chair. "They're where Phoebe is - was — is: on another plane where they can't be tracked."

Leo tensed his lips. "The Elders know very little about even what kind of plane The Eldest created."

"Eldest?"

He leaned against the mantel. "It's the reason the Elders asked so few questions — the oldest among them was a part of it. They trust him completely. We all do."

"So it's a coup."

Leo shook his head, "Maybe. Besides the Blessed, a number of other white lighters are missing too . . . Including several Elders. No one up there knows what to expect next."

Paige rubbed her forehead. "And they've kidnapped the only one of us who can see the future."

"It shouldn't be possible that they've killed her, but all this betrayal . . . none of this should be possible." Leo looked close to tears. "She's given birth by now. We have to hope they still need her."

Piper glowered at the ceiling, "Mia, damn it! Get back here and explain yourself!"

Paige wrapped an arm around Piper's waist. "I don't think she can hear you honey."

Leo looked up as the air chimed.

Piper turned her glare to him. "No, you can't leave now. You just got back."

"They're calling everyone in. They have to know how big this is."

Page frowned. "You're being detained — all of you . . ."

"They want to find out who has left already."

"And keep any more from leaving."

"Or find out how the faction is communicating and recruiting."

Piper stepped out of Paige's embrace and stomped towards Leo. "Leo, I'm about to give birth. You have to be here."

He caressed her stomach. "But if I'm not, you're still going to be okay. You have a magical doctor and a midwife. You can do this Piper."

"An Elder may have kidnapped and murdered Phoebe and you're going back up there. I can't handle that."

"This is bigger than us." He looked up again. "I'm sorry. I have to go." He orbed out leaving Piper and Paige and shocked silence.

Neither moved.

Every breath was one taken in a life without Phoebe — not temporarily but permanently. They weren't going to hug her again or laugh with her.

Piper began to hyperventilate.

Hearing her rapid breaths, Paige's eyes welled with tears. She wanted to stand and comfort her, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Piper's pain made Paige's more real to her. She couldn't stay numb with Piper reflecting back everything true and tragic.

This wasn't the first time they'd face the possibility of losing Phoebe forever. But this felt different. Unlike when Phoebe became queen of the underworld, the separation felt greater — a distance that would never be spanned.

Piper blinked her tears away. "We have to call a lost witch."

"Okay sweetie." Slowly, Paige stood.

Without looking at each other, they walked to the attic.

They didn't want to see the hopelessness and each other's eyes.

Hours passed.

Then more hours.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, Piper and Paige had burned down most of their candles, exhausted their voices. After chanting all the spells they knew, they made up new spells. They tried to track Phoebe's magic, blood, and soul. They scryed the Milky Way many times over.

Piper stared at the crystal lying on the star charts. "This would be a good time for one of your out-of-the-box ideas."

"If we knew what kind of plane they were on, I could figure a way to get there, but we have literally nothing to go on."

"Even if they've . . ." Choked up, Piper looked at Paige. "They don't get to keep her baby."

"Maybe not forever, but for now, they do."

Piper wiped her face. "We should have known. All those times we needed the Power of Three and Mia always found another way — she never seemed tempted to bring Phoebe back."

Paige stared at her cut up hand — they tried many spells that required blood. "I just can't imagine what me is getting out of this — what any of them are."

"Power." Piper rubbed her own bloody hand.

"I know but what Angel wants power — seriously, selflessness is what made them white lighters in the first place, right?"

Piper swung the crystal over the map again mindlessly. "So there's some greater good they think they're serving. I don't know. I don't understand any of this."

Paige handed her another tissue. "Maybe some sleep will help."

Piper blew her nose. "If we stop looking for her, then she's not coming back. It's just too much."

"Want me to orb to your room?"

Shaking her head, Piper started to stand. They walked toward the stairs. When they stepped over the attic threshold, they both looked back.

Without Phoebe, there was no Power of Three and there never would be again. That time of their life was over.

Piper and Paige continued down the stairs. They parted ways in the hall.

Piper paused at her door and looked back at Phoebe's closed door.

She crossed the hall and touched the handle. Only a few days ago she put a baby blanket inside.

She forced her hand to turn the handle and open the door. The first thing she saw was the crib. It stood close to the bed with a white baby blanket hanging off the front. It was the same one mom had used with Phoebe.

On the table beside it sat a framed picture of Phoebe and Cole. Despite how Cole died, how Phoebe killed him, Piper new Phoebe wanted their child to know his face.

She looked around at the burp cloths and diapers. She stocked this room as well as the nursery in her and Leo's closet. Phoebe couldn't set up this room before the baby was born, so Piper had. She put together a space that mother and child would never see.

She stepped forward and sat on the end of the bed. She caught her reflection in the vanity.

She stared at her stomach growing a person who Phoebe wouldn't see or hold. Just as Piper wouldn't get to meet Phoebe's baby, Phoebe wasn't going to meet hers. She rubbed her hand on her knees and let herself bawl.

There wasn't a greater plan or a destiny -maybe there never had been. . .


	11. We Look at What We Still Have

**Chapter 11: We Look at What We Still Have**

* * *

Piper sat at the kitchen table over a cup of tea. She'd come to think of this as Phoebe's spot. So often, Phoebe would sit right here with her laptop typing thoughtful answers to the world's problems. When Phoebe had a problem herself she'd ask her sisters . . . or Cole. For the past nine months, she had only her captors to turn to.

Piper had lost Phoebe long before she'd given birth. They lost Phoebe the moment they let strangers orb her away - to another, lonelier plane of existence.

Piper had sat in Phoebe's seat trying to guess at what her sister had been thinking or feeling. Now, she felt helpless to explain what she herself had been thinking. How did she accept going this long without talking to Phoebe face to face? How had any of it felt okay?

She looked down at the pile of letters. She'd gathered all of Phoebe's correspondence for clues. If Phoebe felt anxious around her escort, she never hinted at it. She wrote about herself and her baby, but she barely mentioned the angels around her. Piper didn't have names or descriptions and she'd never asked for any. She aked about Phoebe's pregnancy, about her feelings but never about where she was or whom she was with.

Piper picked up the only letter that referred to them. Phoebe wrote, _I don't feel watched here, but I know I am. I may never be alone again._

All Piper could intuit from this is that they gave her space; they didn't make her feel like a prisoner even though she was. Sorting through the useless letters, began to wonder if they'd been censored. Maybe one of her kidnappers erased any identifying details from her messages. Phoebe wouldn't have known – or maybe she did. Piper threw her hands up causing some of the papers to float and shuffle.

"Anything?" Paige walked straight to the coffee pot.

"No – how about the voicemails?"

"I listened to them all again. She doesn't say anything about where she is or who she's with. You think they told her to be vague?"

Piper rubbed her temple. "They wouldn't have to if they magically censored her messages."

"They can do that?"

"Why not? Their Elders." Piper glanced at the ceiling for the millionth time.

Paige slumped against the counter with her coffee. "This would be easier with Leo. He's the expert on how they operate, what's possible, and what's crazy."

"I imagine they have him locked down pretty tight."

"I know he said they were white lighters and Elders, but it seems like they've been infiltrated - like someone non-angelic is pulling the strings here."

"Either way, the remaining Elders aren't going to want any white lighters out of their sight."

"My bet is on this 'Eldest' character. The guy everyone trusts has got to have a lot of secrets and a lot of power."

"We already checked the book. He's not in there. And our Elder expert is on timeout."

Paige set her cup down. "If the info won't come to us, will have to orb to the info."

For the first time that morning, Piper looked at her. "You want to break into the heavens while they're on lockdown."

Paige shrugged.

Nodding to herself, Piper stood. "Let's do this while I'm still invincible."

Paige smiled and reached out for her hand. "Maybe we'll see Leo while we're up there."

They orbed out leaving behind one steaming cup of coffee and a table full of letters.

They arrived in a gray-blue space. It had no walls or ceilings – just a floor seemingly made of clouds.

Paige scrunched up her nose, "this is the heavens?"

Piper spun around. "Something is wrong."

A hooded figure approach them. "What are you doing here?" The falling hood revealed Leo.

"What happened? This isn't how it should be."

He reached for her hand. "For now, all incoming orbs are being bypassed here. It's a waiting space for negotiations, confrontations . . . whatever needs to happen."

"What do you know?"

"Not much. Not anything really."

Paige shrugged. "You can't hide up here forever dude. Charges need their white lighters."

Piper squeezed his hand. "And wives need their husbands."

"I know." Leo nodded. "They know."

When he didn't offer more, Paige pressed, "so tell us about this Eldest guy. Can we vanquish him or what?"

He kept his eyes on Piper. "We need to talk."

"So start talking."

"You're right. White lighters have to return to their charges, but some need to stay and figure out what is going on."

"You're staying up here."

"But the Elders don't want to take anything you need right now - not without giving something back."

Piper blinked away her tears. "What could they possibly give us that it make up for losing you?"

Leo stroked her hair. "Prue."

"What?"

"We can't make her a witch again, but the Elders offered to make her a white lighter. She agreed."

Page frowned to herself. "But I thought white lighters were totally human. Witches don't become white lighters"

"The Elders can't make any of this right. When the rogue lights took Phoebe and her child, they severed the Power of Three and broke our trust in each other. Reuniting you with Prue won't fix that, but it might help. They're making an exception."

Piper whispered, "when?"

Leo stepped back and stared into the fog.

Another hooded figure appeared.

"Prue?"

She pushed back her hood revealing her long hair and flowing tears. "Hi Piper."

Releasing Leo's hand, Piper wrapped her arms around Prue. "You're coming back with us? You get to stay?"

"I guess I'm getting a second chance at destiny." Pulling back, Prue looked to Paige. "It's so good to finally meet you."

Paige's smile was small and wobbly. "You're prettier than even your pictures."

Prue's smile deepened. "You have mom's eyes."

Piper pulled her gaze from Prue to Leo. "What does this mean? Will I ever see you again?"

"I don't know. This is bigger than us." He looked at Paige and Prue. "They've stolen some powerful artifacts. We have to prepare for the possibility that they'll use them against us. A war in the heavens could last lifetimes."

Prue removed her robe leaving her and a blouse and jeans. "I'll watch over them Leo." She handed him the white robe.

He accepted it gravely before looking back at Piper. "I wish I could do more for you."

She closed her eyes causing more tears to fall. Her sisters embraced her as Leo orbed away.

Eventually the sisters grew tired of the fog and orbed back to the manor.

In silence, they looked at the living room floor.

Piper was the first to speak. Wiping her nose and trying to keep her voice steady, she said. "I'm going to make some tea."

Prue didn't take her arm away but kept it firmly around Piper. "I'll help."

Paige followed them to the kitchen.

Piper filled the kettle and set it on the stove. All three sisters leaned against the counter waiting.

Page stared at the countertop. "Doesn't it seem weird that our recurring nightmares are kind of coming true?"

Prue looked at her. "What nightmares?"

Noticing Piper's inattention, Paige fully focused on Prue. "Up until a few weeks ago, Piper, Leo and I were having nightmares - different ones. Leo was scared of a war and not being able to protect Piper. Piper was scared of becoming a single mom, and I was scared of Phoebe's kid being evil or used for evil."

"What made the nightmares stop?"

"Well, supposedly Phoebe had a premonition about these dream guys being in danger, and Mia ended up having us face our dreams and dispel them. It could've been just aruse to get us to let our guards down."

"It's possible." Prue glanced at Piper. "We know the mother of angels and the others had been planning this for a long time, but-"

"Wait, you think Mia is behind all this?"

"She's definitely a major player, but it's a stretch to think all of you sensed what no one else did. That isn't any of your powers."

Piper mumbled, "But it's Phoebe's." She stared at the heating kettle. "She saw this coming."

Paige stepped to the table covered in letters. "Did you find a clue? She would have tried to warn us."

"She didn't."

"Maybe she used code or something."

"She didn't." Piper turned to the cupboard and pull down mugs.

Prue watched her. "What is it Piper?"

"She was vulnerable. We knew that and we let them take her. She's helping them."

"We don't know that."

Piper looked directly at Prue. "_**We**_ do." She placed teabags in each of the mugs. "She hasn't changed Prue. She's smart and sneaky and still incredibly stubborn. If she's alive, she's helping them. She doesn't respond to threats or orders."

Prue shrugged. "Maybe she is helping them. That doesn't mean she understands what's happening. Piper, Phoebe has always been gullible. She believed every boy that made her promise –even when he wasn't human – even when he'd tried to kill her."

"She's already betrayed us once."

Paige stepped around the counter. "Piper, listen to yourself. Guys, Phoebe is not the enemy; she's a victim."

Piper harrumphed, "Phoebe has never been a victim." She clenched the counter with one hand and pressed her stomach with the other.

"Piper?"

She groaned.

Prue stepped closer. "Did you just have a contraction?"

"I need Leo."

With one arm around her, Prue led Piper out of the kitchen. "Everything will be all right. Your sisters are here to help you through this."

Paige followed them up the stairs to Piper's bedroom. "We've been rehearsing this for months. We've got this."

Piper just kept murmuring, "I need Leo."


	12. We Try not to Despair

**Chapter 12: We Try not to Despair**

* * *

Leo orbed from the holding plane to the chamber of Elders. Looking for someone to give his update to, he found the chamber unusually quiet, empty. His instincts told him to avoid notice so he did. He crept from pillar to pillar looking through fog and listening to silence.

A single scream froze him.

Nothing scream-worthy could enter the heavens. This was the plane of perpetual peace. No other sounds followed the scream. He leaned harder against a pillar for support or guidance - or just a place to hide.

He didn't want to abandon an Elder in need, but it seemed everyone else had -either that, or everyone else was dead. He held his breath and contemplated that the war had already begun. White lighter against white lighter; Elder against Elder.

Tempted to orb way, he remained frozen as a nearby pillar toppled. He glanced around for a weapon knowing he wouldn't find one. White letters never took up arms. They were pacifists – mostly. . .

He gasped at the site strange boots under a familiar white robe. He looked up into glaring eyes. "Cole?

"Wondered when I'd run into you."

"The sisters vanquished you."

Cole maintained in neutral expression. "Speaking of the sisters, where is Phoebe?"

"I don't—she's not . . . Cole, what's happening here? Where are the others?"

"Most fled. Some fought. None of them told me where my wife and child are."

"They don't know. No one knows. You can't be here. You need to leave."

Cole's white hood fell back as he stood straighter. "That does seem to be the company line."

Leo stood straighter too. "You gonna kill me too?"

"You're not going to die Leo. You're going to orb to the reconstituted Power of Three and help find their missing sister."

"They've tried. They can't."

"Then they'll die along with you and your son."

"They want her back as much as you do. We all do, but the beings that took her has obviously been planning this for a while. There's no trail, no leads. Most of the oldest and most revered here are gone, and no one knows why."

"Someone knows." Cole pulled up his hood. "But if no one is talking, I'll just have to find where it's written."

"Where what's written? There was no note, no message."

Cole clapped a hand onto Leo shoulder. "Somewhere up here there are histories, an account of this Eldest and Angel mother. That's our lead."

Leo leaned closer. "How are you here right now?"

He tightened his grip. "How I'm here won't help find Phoebe. So, where's a place up here _**you're**_ not supposed to be?"

Leo considered him a long moment. Finally he looked around, "okay, come with me."

* * *

Piper lay in her dark bedroom with her newborn son in her arms. She heard the gentle knock but didn't look over. The door pushed open. Footsteps came to the end of the bed. "How's it going up here?"

Piper looked up as Prue sat down. "He said he couldn't, but I really thought he'd come."

"This is where he wants to be. You know that, right?"

Piper wiped her tired eyes. "It's just not how I imagined it, you know?"

Prue smiled softly. "But you have a beautiful healthy baby. There's lots to be grateful for."

Piper bent to hover over him and breathe deeply. "The last baby I held was Phoebe"

"Really?"

"She's the only one I remember."

Prude nodded. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. I missed so much."

"She would've done anything to save you. We both would have."

Prue squeezed Piper's knee. "I know she agreed to be a prisoner to save you."

"If the Source hadn't tried to kill her then, I would've lost both of you that day."

"That's one thing we can count on: evil being evil."

Piper sniffed, "Paige okay?"

"Just getting some sleep. I'm hoping you might do the same. I'll watch him while you rest."

"He's my only connection to Leo. I can't let him go, not yet. Maybe not ever." She huffed a laugh at herself. "I know I sound crazy. You are not here temporarily so all this - him and Phoebe being gone, it's permanent. But I still feel like he's going to orb in any moment, or she's going to call."

Prue scooted closer. "This house feels very different without her - without even the hope of her."

"How much do you know of what happened? I mean, how much did you see from up there?"

"Nothing." Prue caressed Piper's arm and the baby's. "Very few are actually allowed to view their former lives, check in on living loved ones; even then, there's a long waiting period. Mom and Grams told me what they could. They told me you met Paige and vanquished the Source- the first time. . . They didn't tell me Cole became the Source or that Phoebe married him. Before coming here, though, the Elders caught me up."

Piper reached for her hand. "Paige never trusted him, but I did. I let this happen."

"All you need to worry about now is taking care of Wyatt. He's lucky to have the most amazing mother."

"If Phoebe could've traded her freedom -her life for your return, she would have."

"Rest." Prue stroked Piper's hair. "All your grief will be there tomorrow."

Nodding, Piper handed the baby to Prue. She watched Prue holding her son and tried not to cry again. She closed her eyes and listen to the familiar sounds of their childhood home. It creaked and settled and breathed. It was having trouble sleeping too.

* * *

Leo rolled up another scroll. "No one lied to you; no one knows anything."

Cole dropped the unfurled scroll he was reading and reached for another. "I grant it's a very thorough cover-up. We're not talking about just a missing scroll. Any reference of him is gone too."

Leo picked up the fallen sheet. "These preserved histories are not meant to be comprehensive. Much is never written or spoken of."

"Like what?"

"Most things Cole. Everyone here is busy keeping the forces of evil from taking over. All anyone has time to share is what will promote good now and in the future."

Cole tossed another scroll down. "Evil forces aren't all bad, so your champions of good have their flaws. Political rivalries, rifts, coups. . ."

"And have you found any?"

Cole pointed her scroll at him. "So you actually buy that this is the first time an Elder has gone rogue – that throughout all of good magic history, no white lighter broke ranks?"

Leo grabbed the scroll from him. "We were chosen for our loyalty and compassion. Our ranks are made of those least likely to rebel."

Cole's brow rose. "Because no rebellion has ever been for the 'greater good' . . ."

Hearing the sarcasm, shook the scroll at him. "You don't get it! You can't. Good doesn't strive after power for its own sake. Disagreement doesn't mean we take action against each other. That's contrary to everything we stand for. We're selfless which is why you're never going to find what you're looking for."

"I can respect a company man Leo. They have their uses, but you are useless if you're saying nothing here will help me find my family. Phoebe wasn't kidnapped by a stranger! She was taken by one of you, but no one can tell me a thing about him?" He reached for another scroll. "The fact he's not in your histories is clue enough. He's influential, powerful, and doesn't want anyone to know what's coming."

"We still don't know that evil isn't behind us! The Source could have found them and killed them to consolidate power."

"What Source Leo? Dane is a figurehead. He doesn't have the brains or the power to pull this off. And if evil was behind this, wouldn't dark lighters have some inkling? But they're as clueless as the rest of us." Cole looked up from the text. "But you already knew that."

"We're doing everything we can."

"You're making new white lighters, so you can pretend the missing ones never existed."

"That's not-"

"Prue wasn't a gift; she was a necessity. Your Elders are resurrecting any viable good soul to restore their ranks. For every white lighter missing, there'll be a resurrected witch or warlock. Dead witched watching over living ones. It's a wonder no one thought of it before."

Leo's mouth opened and closed a couple times. "How do you know?"

"By questioning the same helpful Elder who shared the next step of the plan."

"What plan?"

"The remaining white lighters and the resurrected recruits will be trained and cultivated into warriors to defend the heavens against the returning horde."

Leo stumbled slightly. "They're coming back?"

"If they do, your loyal, compassionate leaders plan to be ready for them."

Leo scooped up in armful of sheets and scrolls from the floor.

One glance told Cole that Leo was holding something in. "What is it?"

Leo didn't look up. "You think Phoebe is still alive."

"You don't."

Slowly, Leo stood to look them in the eye. "She's likely given birth. If the Eldest wanted your child's power, he doesn't need her anymore. An Elder murdering is unheard of but so is an Elder abandoning his position."

Nodding, Cole flipped through loose scraps trapped in the scroll. "She found me in the wastelands."

"Phoebe brought you back."

"She said goodbye. She talked about the baby. She must've been close to giving birth then. She didn't tell me she needed help, that she was a prisoner."

"As far as anyone knows, these weren't demons posing as white lighters, they're exactly who we thought they were. Phoebe had every reason to trust them."

"We both know Phoebe is trusting by nature — hopeful. She trusted me again and again — not because I deserved it, but because she cared." He turned back to the shelves. "Anyone who knows that about her can use that against her. Influence her to care about you and she'll trust you with what's most important to her."

"You were the last one to see her."

He unfurled another scroll. "Seems that way."

"The demonic wastelands . . . I don't understand how she got there."

"She's carrying more than just power from the Source. I'd wager she can go wherever she wants. She proved it by coming to me –alone."

He lowered his voice. "Are you sure it was her?"

"Just as I'm sure she's not dead. I'm going to find her because I won't stop looking until I do."

Leo looked at the nearly empty shelves around them. "Where else can we look?"

Cole crumpled the scroll in his hands sighing, "inside the mind of Destiny."


	13. But Understanding is Out of Reach

**Chapter 13: But Understanding is Out of Reach**

* * *

Holding her daughter, Phoebe looked at the field full of strolling, chatting white lighters. "This was never about me. You did all this for them.

"Your need and theirs were the same." Sy continued working a goat's hoof free from a crag in the ground. "I've wanted to help them for some time; your plight created an opportunity or allowed one to be created."

Phoebe watched the freed goat scamper off. "This place. . ."

"Was their hearts' desire — which would not be here now if your child hadn't needed it." He stood and together they continue their stroll.

"I abandoned innocents just like they're abandoning charges. You helped us betray the people we were meant to help."

"Meant by whom? I have it on authority that most aren't meant to be anything – certainly not helped."

She asked, "who told you that?"

Sy nodded at those passing who smiled at them. "I've known the Angel of Destiny a long time — longer than the Angel of Death . . . Long before good magic claimed us as their own."

"So you're not good . . ."

He smirked. "We, the Eldest in the heavens are more — much more."

Phoebe rubbed Sophie's back. "If you're so much more, then you didn't need anyone's permission to create this place. You didn't need me."

"There are rules."

She threw up her free hand and waved it at their surroundings. "Aren't they are rules against this?"

He smiled with all his teeth. "Many."

"You don't want me to understand this."

His eyes flashed. "Your lack of capacity does not reflect a lack of motivation on my part. Balancing natural imbalances is a thoroughly complex process understood by few."

"I couldn't possibly understand."

"No, you couldn't."

"Cole said that all the time." She sat on the boulder closest to the pond. "He was half demon and decades older than me; I thought he was right. He wasn't though. He said that only about things he knew I'd disagree with. What he meant by 'not understanding' was that I wouldn't approve, and he was right every time. Sy, if I knew all that you knew, would I agree with what you've done?"

Sitting on the ground across from her, he leaned back against his own boulder. "If you knew all that I know, you would chastise me for not intervening sooner. You would judge me uncaring and slothful." He looked at the pond. "On that, we'd disagree."

Phoebe gazed across the pond to the fields of socializing white lighters. She felt their joy as well as their relief. They could talk as much as they wished about whatever they wished. The energy around her seem to shout _At last, were free._

Sophie pulled on her hair drawing Phoebe's attention. Sophie's eyes held both past and future. Phoebe murmured, "They don't feel concerned. Even Nita seems at peace with this."

"She is."

"Amir's brothers and sisters were so happy to see their mom again."

"Most had not seen her since they were alive. Amir's request that she participate in our plan to help you were the first words exchanged between Mia and any of her adopted kin."

A breeze blew ripples across the pond. Phoebe readjusted the blanket swaddling Sophie. "As long as they stay here, they'll never die, but I will. Sophie will. Will we be separated as punishment for the choices I'm making now?"

Sy's hand glowed as a small or grew in his palm. He tossed it away so it skipped across the water. "The knowledge you gain here will be your leverage for leniency."

She shook her head at the emotion she felt from him. "Does my fate after death bore you?"

The orb he'd thrown bounced back across the pond returning to his hand. "Yes."

"You didn't plan on me staying after Sophie's birth."

"But since you are, I'm planning on making you immortal."

She stilled.

"The Elders who came here brought powerful tools with them — enough so we never need return." He threw the orb like a ball in the air catching it when it boomeranged back to him. "One artifact in particular could help balance your emergent empathy."

"And for that I need to be immortal?"

"In you case, a desirable side effect."

"So my daughter would be the only mortal here. After she dies, I won't know if she's all right. I'd never see her again."

Cradling the ball in his hand, he watched it collapse on itself. "Sophie is one quarter demon. With or without use of her powers, her lifespan is unknown. Her father was half demon and at the prime of his life, seemed to stop aging entirely."

Phoebe looked at Sophie's stoic expression. It was so much like Cole's. "I won't risk permanent separation."

"From her. You'll risk it from your own mother and sisters."

She searched his eyes. "How can I answer that when I'm not aware of my feelings — only yours?"

His eyes changed from brown to teal to purple. Sensing no change in his emotions, Phoebe didn't know what to make of these transformations.

He leaned forward. "If you stripped your powers, you'd know your own mind."

"And I could live anywhere I wanted."

"Soon your daughter will prove she can protect herself. You could take her with you."

"How soon?"

"That's entirely up to her." He glanced at Sophie. "All options are still open for you. Many of them always will be."

She leaned closer to. "And if I accept your solution, if I become immortal . . ."

He smiled. "For myself and a few others, whatever is done can be undone and whatever is undone can be done again."

She narrowed her eyes. "This place, was it undone? Is this you remaking something that was before?"

He tilted his head. "There exists a chasm between our perspectives. Where you see engravings, I see light strokes of a pencil."

Cradling Sophie, she moved from her boulder to crouch before him. "Sy, what are you?"

* * *

Cole and Leo found the Angel of Destiny asleep in his chair. The tall walls around him were covered with silver vines — all growing up into opaque fog above. The Angel wrinkled his nose and slowly opened his eyes. He didn't try to move his portly frame from its slouched perch. His eyes dropped as if falling back asleep.

Cole squinted at him. "I pictured him more awake."

Frowning, Leo stepped forward. "Sir? I don't know if anyone's told you — sir?"

"Maybe he's wounded."

Leo approached until he was standing over him. Not seeing any wounds, he crouched before him. "Sir, much is happening. You are needed."

Not seeing any movement, Cole grew an energy ball in his palm.

Hearing the crackle, Leo looked back. He shook his head. "That won't accomplish anything."

The listless Angel shifted. "That's not why he does it." He smirked with his eyes closed. "It's why demons don't have destinies: action for action's sake."

Cole hurled the energy ball at him. "Pretty much."

The Angel opened his eyes just in time to see the energy disperse inches from his face. "Self-sabotage is in your natures. You felt love for the witch you were tasked to kill, then you let her join darkness rather than reject the darkness inside yourself."

"Do you know where she is?"

Leo frowned. "Or what the Eldest is planning?" They stared at the Angel's drooping eyes.

His head lolled as he spoke. "He does not have a destiny, so my knowledge of him is little." He closed his eyes. "She rejected hers, so my knowledge of her is no longer relevant."

Cole cocked his head. "Besides demons, what other beings don't have destinies?"

The Angel's mouth grew another smile. "Destinies are quite rare: few are assigned, fewer accepted." A yawn interrupted his smile. "The only destiny left among you is the boy's, Wyatt Halliwell."

Leo held his breath. "I had a boy?"

"His destiny is unrelated to the current happenings. What you seek is not here." He chuckled. "It is not anywhere."

Cole stomped towards him and grabbed the old Angels neck. When Leo moved to stop him, Cole flung him against the wall with the flick of his wrist. Cole tried to lift him by his neck, but the fat sage didn't rise an inch. Cole reared his other fist back, grew a ball of flame and punched him with it. He felt his fist make contact, but still, the Angel didn't budge. Shadows creeping across his face made Cole look up. The silver branches were no longer flat against the wall. They were moving, leaning, descending upon him. As they fell closer, their shadows grew darker.

The Angel grumbled, "Despise destiny if you will, but do not hope to change it." The branches picked up both Cole and Leo and bound them tightly.

"Wait!"

Leo shouted, "this should not be. You know that!"

Silver branches wrapped around their throat sending both their shouts. The Angel closed his eyes again and the branches hurled them far into the fog, through a wall, and over many columns and empty floors.

The force of the throw actually prevented either of them from orbiting her shimmering.

Leo felt every bit of his impact with a set of stairs. Groaning, he opened his eyes. He saw white — empty, hollow white. He did not see Cole nor hear his landing. Leo pushed himself up and wiped the blood from his cheek. The stair's edge had cut him. Rubbing the blood between his fingertips, Leo tried to accept the truth: this place wasn't his home anymore. Drops of blood stained his white robe. He didn't know how long he stood there processing, but eventually, he orbed away.


	14. And Even Love Feels Hard to Bear

**Chapter 14: And Even Love Feels Hard to Bear**

* * *

Pru sat on her bed with Wyatt in her lap. Before them lay several photo albums. She flipped the page to a picture of Grams with all three sisters as youngsters. She leaned down, "that's who's coming today. That's your great-grandmother. You are very special to her, and all of the great grand mommy's and aunties are coming to bless you with goodness and love."

Paige walked in. "Isn't he the handsomest man around?"

"This is the third handsome outfit he's worn and probably not the last."

"And here I thought family were the ones you didn't have to dress up for." Paige sat on the bed and spun one of the albums around. "Cute."

Pru nodded at the open photo, "mom with Piper."

Paige pointed at the white frock in the photo. "That's what you'll be wearing lil guy."

"Your kids too."

Paige laughed. "Kid, right. I can't even get through a date without lying. How can I call a guy my boyfriend if I can't be myself with him?"

"Nate have a problem with the late-night vanquish?"

"No, he thought my orb to kill Creepers was just a really long smoke break."

"That's good, right?" Pru played with Wyatt's little hands. "Better than suspicious or annoyed."

"It'd be good if he knew this big important part of my life."

"It's a little soon to be worrying about that."

"Has anyone ever tried the truth spell that's in the book?"

"I did and I don't recommend it."

Paige leaned down on her elbow. "But it wears off after 24 hours, right? No harm done."

Pru shifted Wyatt in her lap when he started fussing. "Piper told me about Glenn. You cared for him for a really long time and now he's not an option."

Paige pulled a loose string in the bed spread. "Glenn was the last time I felt this way, but if I don't know that Nate can handle this stuff, then I'm going to have to dump them. It won't work otherwise."

"Is it possible you're rushing things with Nate because Glenn rushed into marriage?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Like a rebound?"

"Strong, resilient relationships take time, lots of time and work. There aren't any shortcuts to partnerships."

"But I really think he can handle it."

"Maybe he can, but that alone doesn't mean you should get serious." Pru passed Wyatt to Paige. "Belief in the supernatural is just one thing of many you need to be on the same page about."

Looking into Wyatt's baby eyes, Paige grumbled, "I hear you, I hear you."

Pru stood. "Now let's find Piper before she freaks out."

Paige followed her out into the hall. "So when are you gonna start dating again?"

Pru chuffed, "when all is right with the world."

Grams looked up as they came down the stairs. "That means never dear and never is a wise choice."

Paige laughed, "weren't you married four times Grams?"

"Exactly." Grams hugged Pru tightly.

Piper took Wyatt from Paige and turned to Grams. "Meet the next generation of Halliwells."

Stepping back from Pru, Grams' expression softened taking in his squishy, smiling face. She held out her arms and accepted him joyfully. "So precious."

Piper smiled, "this is Wyatt."

Grams smirked. "That's a funny name for a girl isn't it?"

"Wyatt is a boy."

"A boy?"

Pru gestured, "Grams, look at the outfit."

Grams expression soured. "What went wrong?"

Leo frowned. "Excuse me?"

Grams turned to him. "I don't mean wrong. I just mean we've always had girls."

Piper nodded. "And now we have a boy."

Grams stroked his little head. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So much has gotten off track. How could anything be as it should?" She kissed Wyatt's cheek before handing him over to Leo. "Hardly the most tragic altered destiny. Well, girls let's get to work."

"Work? What work?"

Grams turned back to Piper. "I'll be calling every matriarchs of the Salem witch trials. We have to take precautions."

"Oh, we've got that covered. Every demon that could attack their spirits has been taken out. The zombies, the rigors—"

Paige nodded, "creepers . . ."

"We're all set."

"What about the Necromancer."

"The what now?"

"Very dangerous for a wiccaning. He feeds on spirits. I'll show you in the book." She stepped towards the stairs. "The last time he attacked was during your mother's wiccaning. And we can't take any chance on that happening again, so chop-chop."

Paige lingered behind. "Actually if you guys got this covered, there's someone I want to see."

Pru wrapped an arm around her. "Time and work and patience. He'll wait and it'll be better than he does." She walked Paige up the stairs.

Grams nodded her approval. "As you kids say: duty before booty."

Blushing, all girls chuckled. Leo just shook his head. He cuddled Wyatt closer. "Now you know why we don't summon her more often."

* * *

Grams looked somber as she concocted her potion for the Necromancer.

Pru stayed close beside her. "How are things up there?"

Paige looked up from the book. "Cole's not still bothering you is he?

Grams shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about him returning. I doubt he'll ever run out of dimensions to search."

"And annoy."

Graham smiled weakly. "I was surprised they let me come. The Elders agree wiccanings are important, but much of import is on hold in these troubled times."

Piper handed her a bottle. "We keep waiting for Leo to be called back. How is it possible they haven't needed him?"

Grams stroked her arm before opening the glass bottle. "It's more likely they don't trust him. Phoebe's husband damaged much in little time and Leo was seen with him."

Piper glared, "Because Cole threatened him. Leo wasn't helping him."

Pru held out a calming hand. "No one thinks he was."

"The Angel of Destiny does." Grams used an eyedropper to fill a vial with her potion. "Leo interrogated him."

"No, he was a hostage while Cole interrogated."

Paige frowned. "If the Elders thought Leo went rogue or whatever wouldn't they have recalled him or something?"

"Their waiting list for judgment is long and growing." She picked up another vial to fill. "Or so I assume."

Pru shook her head. "Piper, no one's coming for him, not for a long, long time."

Paige shrugged. "And even if they do, he'll tell them what he told you — the truth."

Piper's mouth tensed. "I'll be right back."

Watching her march out of the room, Grams motioned for the girls not to follow. "Let her go. This potion needs to settle a bit anyways." Grams but the last file down with a sigh, "men."

* * *

Piper found Leo putting Wyatt into his crib. "It's a little early for naptime. Grams might want to spend some time with him first."

"Doubt it."

"Excuse me?" Piper stepped further into the room.

Leo straightened away from the crib. "She's disappointed he's not a she."

"Maybe a little, but we were all surprised by it. He's her great-grandson; she'll adjust."

He turned toward her. "She equated him being a boy with treachery in the heavens."

Piper put both hands in our back pockets. "Speaking of heavens, tell me again why you're here and not there."

"Honestly? There's no one to call me back and I don't want to go."

"There's got to be somebody," she sputtered. "The heavens aren't empty."

"Those who didn't join the Eldest were killed by Cole or went into hiding. White lighters are still being made and received from remote locations, but everyone is dispersed."

She leaned against the wall. "Are you in trouble Leo?"

He looks down. "Wyatt will be an old man before I'm called to give an account."

"But you don't know that. How could you not tell me they suspect you"

"Because they don't — not more or less than anyone else." Leo leaned against the wall next to her. "The remaining Elders are confused and scared — just like the rest of us. There are half formed plans and unassigned missions. They don't know how to get any of this right again." He watched Piper hold his hand. "I don't even know who to report to. They didn't just abandon the heavens; they abandoned each other."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He squeezed her hand. "Telling you makes it real and I still don't feel ready for it. I don't know what I am now or what my purpose is."

"Maybe being a father and husband is enough." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you for coming back to us."

"This family is the only thing that still makes sense to me."

"Even though we're crazy?"

Smiling, he kissed her temple. "He's not asleep yet. Do you want to take him up to see her?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "She's not really disappointed about his gender. She's disappointed by all the rest of it — just like we are. She hasn't mentioned her other great grandchild."

"There's one baby in this house where there should be two."

Piper approached Wyatt's crib. "He doesn't have a cousin here, but today, he has a grams." She scooped him up and carried him out of the room.

Leo stayed behind and stared at a photo on the wall — it was the one Grams took of Piper, Pru and Phoebe. He didn't know when Piper hung it there, but he guessed why: it was the last photo Grams took, the last time they were all alive and together.

He stepped closer. Noticing its slight tilt, he reached out and straightened it. He locked eyes with a young Piper and an even younger Phoebe. He murmured, "you are missed." He waited for her to blink or nod, but of course she didn't. The Phoebe in the photo couldn't respond any more than the Phoebe now could. She was lost to them. He walked away from a face they'd never stop missing.

* * *

Grams smiled at her grandchildren and began the incantation. "I call forth from space and time matriarchs from the Halliwell line; mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, our family spirit without end. Together now, in this sacred place help us bring this child to grace."

One by one, glowing spirits filled the attic. The sisters took in their faces, clothes and hair with awe. Among them stood a familiar, smiling face.

With only a moment's hesitation, Grams continued, "the next generation has been born into a family legacy." She picked up baby Wyatt and turned to face the women. "We pledge to be with this child, this beautiful boy always. Apart but never separate, free but never alone. He is one of us and because of that. we will bless them with all the goodness that we are. Welcome to the family Wyatt Matthew Halliwell. Blessed be." She handed the baby back to Piper and turned around.

The spirits began to disappear and so did she. Keeping her eyes on Phoebe, Grams was the last spirit to depart.

Only Phoebe remained in all her non-translucent glory. She stood in a long, gray dress with her hair down in waves. Her smile didn't waver as they stared at her with jaws dropped. "He's incredible Piper — the best of you and Leo."

No one stepped forward or even blinked.

Finally, Leo stammered, "h-he m-made you into a god."

Like the others, Pru couldn't stop staring. "That's why we feel like this."

Phoebe clasped her hands in front of her. "The effect should be less on witches and white lighters than on humans, but less is still something . . ." She searched each of their faces for hostility or distrust. She felt their anger, but she couldn't see it — likely because they weren't conscious of it in her presence. She sighed, "I understand that if you knew all that I know, you might have made different choices and still think I'm crazy. Guys, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, but everything else felt like the wrong thing."

Piper's eyes welled, "we thought they killed you for your baby."

Phoebe's brow raised before turning to Leo, "I assume they wouldn't listen to you."

He opened his mouth but no words emerged.

Paige answered for him. "He thought the same thing so did the Elders."

Phoebe sat on the armrest of the small settee. Closing her eyes, she let their fear reverberate inside her.

Leo stepped closer. "Phoebe, where is your baby?"

"My home away from here."

Piper stepped forward to. "You're not staying? But this is where you belong – both of you."

"Everything I've walked away from has been for her."

Paige sat on the other armrest. "You had a girl?"

"What's her name?"

Piper sat on the setttee as Pru took a stand by Leo.

"Sophia Halliwell."

Pru started to frown. "You used to say if you ever had a girl, you'd name her after mom."

"The Halliwell is for mom; Sophie is for Cole – after his grandmother."

Leo firmed his voice. "Cole is back Phoebe. He escaped the wastelands to look for you two."

She looked at him and then each of her sisters. She reached over and touched the back of Wyatt's hand. "Which is one reason I can't stay long. I'm not sure what to do about that." She smiled at Piper. "Kids complicate everything."

Paige rested her hand on Piper shoulder. "Will we see you again?"

"I shouldn't even be here now, but attending his wiccaning might be the only thing I do as his auntie."

"How did you know when to come?"

"Did Grams' spell bring you?"

Phoebe shook her head. "Mia knew the day he was born. Then I just had to count days and hours."

Leo finished, "because with wiccanings are predictable."

Piper looks between Leo and Phoebe. "Wait, Mia knew when Wyatt was born? How? She wasn't here."

Phoebe stroked a long walk of Piper's hair. "She was watching over you. She cares about you and your family."

"She left when I needed her most. I kept calling for her and she never came." Both women were close to tears.

"That's because she cares about hers." Phoebe continued to stroke her hair. "That's what all these changes are about Piper — family."

"That's what they told you, but this feels wrong."

Leo nodded. "Becoming Queen of the Underworld was a mistake and this is too."

Pru watched Phoebe watch Wyatt. "You weren't destined to become a god. We don't think this is a good path for you and neither did mom or Grams."

Paige's tone was gentle but earnest as she plead, "Everyone who really knows you thinks this is a bad idea. Even Cole disagrees with what you're doing."

With compassionate eyes, Phoebe looked up at Leo. "Did you ask why you're the only one who gets to have this? Or were you too scared to hear their answer?"

Piper wiped her eye. "What are you talking about?"

Phoebe kept her attention on Leo. "Other white lighters wanted to marry; most fell in love with other white lighters, but the Elders always said no. The only other white lighter to raise a family was Mia, and they've been punishing her ever since." Her eyes stayed soft, but her voice grew firm. "But they didn't punish you. They just let you. Your friends and mentors want what you have. They've wanted it for years. My pregnancy gave them an opportunity to have what they want without punishment. I can't count the number of weddings I've been to already." She glanced at Paige and Pru. "They miss helping people, but to them, this time of love and family is making up for the decades and centuries and millennia they've gone without it." She leaned over and kissed Wyatt's head. "I don't think I'll regret helping them. How could I?"

Piper and Paige looked at Pru, Pru looked at Leo, and Leo looked at his son. His expression became more pained with every passing moment. "If the Elders had denied me a family, I wouldn't have abandoned my calling or my charges. I don't condone the rebellion you're a part of."

Piper looked at Phoebe again. "They could be lying to you."

Pru added, "they've definitely been lying to you. What none of us know is how much."

"This won't change your minds, but you should know my powers have grown." Phoebe pulled back from Wyatt and stood. "Increasing my magic helped me survive my pregnancy. Now, I see the past and the future at will." She looked at Leo hovered over Piper. "Whether or not I believe what they told me, I believe what I've seen." She smiled sadly at Wyatt. "One of the Elders who stayed behind wants Wyatt. He plans to use him to take over this plane. I've seen that future."

Pru stood straighter. "That's your future Phoebe — not Wyatt's."

Phoebe kept her eyes on Wyatt's. She saw innocence in his baby blues and remembered what those same eyes looked like without it. "Leo, don't trust Gideon. For your family's sake, accept that you never really know anyone." A cloud of gray hearts enveloped her. She and the cloud disappeared before anyone could stop her. The adults in the room didn't look at each other. But all of them glanced at Wyatt.


	15. To Endure

**Chapter 15: To Endure**

* * *

Phoebe held the baby while Jerome cut the cord. She wiped the child's face and handed him over. Jerome turned to his wife crying and smiling. Phoebe stepped back and wiped her own hands. With one last glance at the new family, she turned to walk outside.

Only the top of the sun could be seen over the horizon. The fields were still endless but were not now with homes and schoolhouses.

She breathed in the sweet, smoky air. It smoothed the sharp edges of her grief.

Nita stepped beside her.

Phoebe looked out at the pond. "It's harder when they don't have orbs. I thought they'd all be like the first, but sometimes . . ."

"They're all magical, but they're not all white lighters."

"Without the orbs, they look human."

"The picture they make with their parents is the one you wished for yourself."

Glancing back, Phoebe caught a glimpse of Jared cooing over his son. "My greatest fear was Cole turning against me. Now I'm more afraid of him turning against all of you. As long as he can't hurt you, I'm okay with him hating me."

Nita turned to look at the couple. "You asked the doctors among us to teach you how to deliver our children. Why, when it causes you such pain?"

"Everyone has pain. My magic has me feeling all of it and loving all of them. Me being here helps them, so I'll continue to be here."

Nita looped her arm through Phoebe's. "This place was better for you before it became our sanctuary. When this was just yours, you suffered less."

"You all deserved to have the same chance you gave me. Your happiness is my happiness."

"Perhaps." Nita squeezed her arm. "There are dimensions you may choose to visit. Planes of solitude, where you and whomever you choose could feel peace."

"You mean Cole."

"A place with no one but yourselves to harm or channel or love . . ."

"Not a place to live or raise a child."

Nita nodded. "Not to live, but to visit." She leaned closer. "It'd be safe for Cole to live there though."

Phoebe smirked. "For him or everyone else?"

Nita pulled her into a stroll. "Ask Sy about these planes. He'll know which ones to avoid and how to access each one."

Phoebe looked at the picnicking group of white lighters they walked past. There were smiles and food and games. She tried to imagine the scene with running, screaming, laughing children. "I wonder if their kids will love this place is much as their parents do."

"Curiosity will likely tempt young ones to the mortal plane. Should they be ill-received, Sy will help them return. We've made a safe haven — not a prison."

Phoebe nodded. Her premonitions had shown her the truth of it. If Piper and Leo could not prevent Wyatt's corruption, their second son, Christopher, would find sanctuary here along with his fiancée. The future of good Halliwell magic depended on this dimension.

She and Nita continued walking to the pond. They sat together on a newly carved bench.

Looking down at the grass, Nita murmured, "Sy will understand if you reject his proposal."

"He'd also understand if I never accept or reject it. Since I'm immortal too now, I'm not in a hurry to decide."

Nita Pat Phoebe's arm. "Marriage of immortals is nothing to rush into."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "He might not even ask in the next hundred years. My premonition wasn't specific about the when."

"You're right to think about it now. Your ex-husband seems to be immortal and invincible himself. The rest of your lifetimes could be with him if you want them to be."

Across the pond, Phoebe spotted Sophie being sung to by Mia and Amir. "Visits would be good. Her father shouldn't be a stranger. I know what that's like, but I also know Cole. He's dangerous even when he doesn't mean to be."

"That's how I feel." Nita sighed, "that's how all of us feel, but that might not be how you feel. You won't know until it's just you."

Phoebe watched Mia dangle an orb above Sophie. "She doesn't miss him, but she will. Once she starts, she'll never stop."

Nita Pat her knee. "Want to check on our newest little one?" She stood and Phoebe followed.

For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, she wished she could talk to her sisters about this dilemma, but she knew they had their hands full with their own. Keeping Wyatt safe and good, protecting innocents, and avoiding scrutiny from human authorities as well as heavenly ones required all of their resources all of the time. She felt guilty for not helping more but grateful that at least, her sisters had each other. Sy had assured her that if she stayed away long enough, the Elders would likely restore Pru to the mortal plane. Through a premonition, she'd seen it happen.

By letting everyone outside this dimension think the worst, Phoebe helped reunite her sisters. Pru, Piper, and Paige would be able to handle anything together . . . well, almost anything. Her premonitions regarding Wyatt's fate continued to be dark and disturbing. Her warning hadn't helped. She didn't know what more she could do, but maybe Sy had another idea. His confidence felt particularly contagious. With his help, all that would be done could be undone. She believed in him as much as he believed in her. She just didn't know what that meant for her daughter or her daughter's father.


	16. What Else is Left to Us?

**Chapter 16: What Else is Left to Us?**

* * *

Cole sat on a molten rock, the same one he'd shared with his wife over a year ago. Watching the storming sky, he smelled the rotting carcass of the beast that had ruled this place.

Another one replaced it, but it left Cole alone now. He supposed it had given up trying to kill him. To both their surprises, it wasn't capable of harming him anymore. Cole suspected nothing could.

In gaining enough powers to escape the Wasteland, Cole somehow ended up invincible. He had forever to find her . . . forever to miss her . . . forever to regret his own existence.

A voice carried between the thunder. "Young one, are you waiting for her?"

Cole didn't turn towards the voice. Neither fear nor curiosity stirred within him.

From a great distance, the voice called out again. "She will not return here, but she will meet you."

Soul-tired, Cole closed his eyes. "I am neither prize nor pray." He clapped his hands and the sky exploded with light illuminating the ground littered with magic. "Whatever power you seek is already at your feet."

A clap from above darkened the sky completely. The voice sounded closer. "When you could not leave this place, she came to you. Use your freedom to go to her now."

Cole hurled a fireball at the beast's corpse. It burns like that much kindling. "You do not know where she is and she does not want to see me."

The voice was behind now. "Then why do you look for her?"

The beast had died with his eyes open. Cole looked at them now and the reflection he saw there. "I don't know." Rain fell from clouds he couldn't see. The drops felt like acid on his skin.

The voice came from behind and above, before and below. "I do not require your cooperation to bring you to her."

Cole clenched his jaw. "Then do it. Do it damn you!"

In a blink, the wasteland disappeared — replaced by an empty penthouse.

With no rock supporting him, Cole tumbled back on his ass. He scrambled to stand, "what the –"

A man as tall as himself leaned against the door frame to the bedroom. "This is not the penthouse you died in but it's like it — exactly like it."

Cole's hearing couldn't pick up a single sound from outside — no cars, no elevator, no voices, no wind. He stepped towards the window. The sun was out, but the street was empty. "Where are we?"

"It doesn't matter. She'll be here soon."

"I don't believe you."

The man didn't blink. "I know."

"The Elders took her. Why would they give her back?"

The man's eyes flashed from brown to teal to purple. "They wouldn't."

"An Elder couldn't have brought me here — not like that."

"No."

Cole turned and faced him. "Stop confirming what I already know and tell me what's going on."

The man straightened from the doorframe. "She cannot come unless I go. Who do you wish to speak with — me or her?"

"Her!"

With a nod, the man disappeared. Glancing around, Cole realized he was standing in the exact spot he died. He looked at the ground; there wasn't even a crack or smudge. It was like it didn't happen. He stepped further into the living room trying to remember every detail. He waved a hand to create a sofa, but nothing happened. He waved another hand to create a picture, and again — nothing.

His magic didn't work here. . .

Feelings didn't fill him at this realization, but questions did: did this mean he could die now? Is that why they brought him here — to kill him? If Phoebe really was coming maybe she wanted to kill him herself.

His breathing came harder. His legs felt weak in his stomach felt sick. He stumbled to a wall and slid down. For the first time in a long time, fear filled him.

* * *

Sy transported Phoebe to the bedroom she shared with Cole. He kissed the top of her head, and without a word, he left her there.

She stared at the spot their bed had been. She knew she wasn't alone. Sy's feelings weren't flooding her heart anymore, but Cole's were. They didn't overwhelm her like Sy's had, but they confused her.

She wasn't afraid to see Cole again, but she felt fear. Did that mean _**he**_ was afraid to see _**her**_?

Love and grief and despair she expected, but his fear was foreign. Even when she'd been vanquishing him, he hadn't seemed afraid.

Staring at an empty floor trying to control her roiling stomach and labored breathing, she accepted their time apart had changed them both.

He must have heard her wheeze because he forlornly called, "Phoebe?"

She wasn't under control yet, but she couldn't keep him waiting. His emotions grew more desperate every second. She walked to the doors, took a deep breath and opened them.

Cole sat against a wall hugging his knees. "Phoebe?"

She murmured, "I'm here baby." Approaching him, she felt fear and joy soar and him. "It's okay Cole. We're okay."

His eyes shimmered. "I thought you were dead."

"Our baby and I are both alive and well."

"Where?" He pled.

"I want her to know you someday, that she's not strong enough yet."

He wiped his eye. "She sick?"

Phoebe knelt close to him. "Our daughter is healthy and already very powerful but it will be a few years until she can direct that power to protect herself."

"But there's nothing here, right? Nothing can hurt her."

"There's just you."

"Exactly, it's just me and — wait, you think I would hurt her?!" He pushed himself off the ground wheezing and sputtering. "You think I would hurt our baby?!"

She stood slowly. His pain seemed to activate hers. Both made it hard to focus. She struggled to think and speak. "I can't take that risk."

"Phoebe," his voice broke. "What happened to you?"

"I saw your future. If you don't stay here, your powers will damage so much good. Demons will fear you — they'll murder and destroy to impress you."

"I don't want that. I could never –"

"-it's not about you. It's about your power and how the underworld is reacting to it."

He stepped closer. "I won't let that happen." He reached for her and she stepped back.

"You will. You do." She watches hand fall to his side. "Sophie will meet you when she's stronger than you."

His voice dropped. "She might never be stronger than me."

She whispered, "You overestimate yourself." She stepped within reaching distance. "You're not even stronger than me."

He started to frown. She reached up and cupped his cheek, "baby, your powers don't work here, but mine do. Maybe Sophie's will too."

"Sophie."

"I've put our child before everything else — even you."

He covered her hand with his. Looking into her loving eyes, he savored her presence. They hadn't been this close in so long. He felt unworthy of her touch, her love. He always had. He thought she may be right to protect the child from him, but he couldn't say it. He squeezed her hand and her lips trembled — almost as if she knew. He kissed her palm. "Is this another goodbye?"

She pulled them down and kissed his lips. She started to pull away, stopped, and pulled herself closer. She kissed along his jaw and neck saying "no, we share a child; we're linked forever."

He wrap both his arms around her tightly. "Promise?"

"I couldn't stay your wife but always be the mother of your daughter. She hugged him back just as tightly. "We'll never stop being family."

He kissed her head and shoulder. "I need more." He didn't relax his hold, and she didn't pull away. Her next words froze him.

"I need less." She stroked the back of his head to soothe the pain of her truth. Her touch didn't soothe either of them, but she couldn't stop.

He closed his eyes. "What if you strip my powers?" He felt her tears against his neck.

"It wouldn't change how I feel."

He pulled back just enough to see her face. "You don't love me anymore."

Her eyes wandered every detail of his face — his bottomless eyes, strong cheekbones and stubborn jaw. They'd been in her dreams since the day they met. He was the love of her life and she didn't want to be with him. She didn't fully understand the why, but she couldn't deny what her gut was telling her. "I wish you could feel what I'm feeling because I don't know how to explain it."

"And there's nothing I can do to change it?"

She shook her head. "We can't go back."

He held onto her a few minutes more. They rested against each other in complete silence.

Eventually, he stepped back and they both felt the space between them grow. He clenched his throat, but his voice was still rough. "What happens now?"

She reached into the top of her dress and pulled out an envelope. Holding it to him, she explained, "pictures aren't enough, but I'll bring more. I'll bring everything I can."

Opening the envelope, he looked at his child's face for the first time. She was pink and wrinkled and so tiny. He didn't have words and neither did Phoebe.

But she didn't have to wonder what thoughts and feelings swirled inside. Before becoming an empath, she'd have cut off a finger to know his truths. Now, she'd almost cut off a finger to forget what she did know.

Seeing his daughter made him want to cry for joy and die where he stood. Cole was confusion and contradiction personified.

In this room, she finally realized how unstable he was. She couldn't count on him. She was wrong to do it in the past and she'd be wrong to put that pressure on him in the future. It hurt to realize that she worried about him more than she loved him — more than she felt loved by him.

He couldn't be what she needed and she wouldn't spend forever denying that she had needs. She didn't plan to tell them that, but at least she admitted it to herself. Being a goddess didn't mean she didn't get overwhelmed or sad or hopeless. In fact, her powers of love and empathy guaranteed she felt all those things more often than not. Cole couldn't support her fully or reliably. He just wasn't strong enough. She understood that now.

Watching him look through photos, she reached back into her dress and pulled out a small, soft bag. She held it out to him. "I didn't know you never dreamed. This will help."

Frowning, He accepted it reluctantly and peeked inside. "Dream dust . . ." He sounded in awe.

"Look at the pictures before you sleep and dream of Sophie."

A tear ran down his cheek. "I will."

"Do you want Sy to take you back?"

"What?"

"Sy brought us here. Only he can get us out."

"You're asking if I want to be imprisoned again."

"Yes."

Gazing at a photo sleeping Sophie, he brought the bag of dream dust to his chest. "And you'll be back?"

"With more pictures, and dream dust and stories about Sophie."

He took another step away from her. "I'll stay."

His answer surprised her, but she didn't show it. "Sy can check on you between visits in case you change your mind."

Without looking at her, Cole nodded.

He was feeling overwhelmed by seeing her again, hearing about their baby, his possible future and being rejected by her. She understood and didn't press for more.

Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on Sy. In a heartbeat, Sy stood beside her.

Cole couldn't look at her, but he looked at Sy. "Thank you."

Sy waved his hand and the penthouse filled with furniture. All of it looked familiar. "I'll see you soon young one."

Before Cole could answer, he saw Phoebe and Sy fade out. Alone again, Cole glanced around. The penthouse looked as he remembered, but Sy added much that was new. There were pictures on the wall Cole had never seen before — pictures of his father, Grandmother Sophia, and Phoebe with their baby. . .

His knees folded themselves and he gently fell to the floor again. Leaning against the couch, he spent hours staring at each mysterious moment captured on the wall. Before succumbing to sleep, he remembered to use a pinch of dream dust. He was rewarded by finding all those photographed faces breathing and walking inside his first dream. In it, he didn't feel fear or guilt. He felt something new and freeing; he felt hope.

* * *

Phoebe sat against a rock atop a pile of blankets. The pond lay before her, but for once, she didn't watch it. Since sitting here, she hadn't even glanced at it; she didn't need to. There existed no more peaceful, comforting site than Sophie in her arms.

Innocent eyes looked up at her through half closed lids. Sleep would come, but not now . . . not yet . . .

Phoebe imagine their hearts beating in sync, their lungs breathing as one. She couldn't distinguish her daughter's feelings of rightness from her own. She caressed Sophie's arm over the blanket that swaddled her.

She couldn't guess how long they'd been sitting there. It didn't matter. She had nowhere to be — no charges to save or columns to write. She left her mortal life behind with the mortal plane. And in her immortal life, there was nothing to stop her from spending every moment basking in the miracle of her child. Her love for Cole and Cole's love for her created this beautiful face and these perfect little fingers. Sophie personified all that was good and worthy in them.

Phoebe remembered fearing how this baby would change her life. Her life had changed and would continue to change, but she wasn't afraid anymore. All she needed was Sophie. As long as they were together, the oceans of emotion within were clear and serene. She'd been searching her whole life for this kind of love, and to her surprise, it felt even better than she imagined.

Sophie changed Phoebe's life in every way and every day, Phoebe felt overwhelmed with gratitude. She knew she'd choose to feel all the pain again if it meant ending up with Sophie falling asleep in her arms. Closing her eyes, Phoebe focused on her daughter's steady feeling of contentment. It was the meaning of hers. It was her meaning for everything.

It was . . .

She was . . .

Everything.

* * *

_**The End**_

* * *

Each chapter heading was created as a line of poem. With each chapter, the poem grew.

Below is the complete whole:

_In the Beginning_

_White Lights Descend_

_To Control or Care_

_We Can't be Sure_

_So We Trust_

_While Fear Brews Inside Us_

_Other Emotions, Harder to Name,_

_Overtake Us in Our Dreams_

_We Beg the Lights to Help Us_

_They Seem Not to Hear_

_We Look at What We Still Have_

_We Try not to Despair_

_But Understanding is Out of Reach_

_And Even Love Feels Hard to Bear_

_To Endure_

_What Else is Left to Us?_

* * *

**Author note: in this fanfic, I hope you, the reader, found whatever you wished to — distraction, emotion, closure.**

**This is my one and only Charmed fanfic. I don't plan to write another. The story of Phoebe's pregnancy was the only storyline I thought the writers didn't do justice. The rest were whole and satisfying. There's no more value I could contribute.**

**My next fanfic will take place within the world of Joan of Arcadia. It is called Time of Death and is an alternate ending of episode 11 of season 1, "The Uncertainty Principle." During that tension filled final scene with Ramsey, Joan and her father, Ramsey fires and a larger plan is set in motion. **


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